


From Teens to Sparklings

by FictionalDragonMother



Series: Heroes of Light [1]
Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Blood, Breakdown Lives AU, Character Death, Cuddle Pile, Jack's father is shit in this fic, M/M, Nesting, Platonic Cuddling, Predacon Jack, Protective Autobots, Protective Decepticons, Redeemed Decipticons, Seeker Raf, T for gore, Team as Family, Transformer Sparklings, Wrecker Femme Miko, babies getting hurt, oof sorry, snuggles, well some of them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-30 17:01:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 29,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13956060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionalDragonMother/pseuds/FictionalDragonMother
Summary: Sometimes, Fate decides to barge into your life and mess everything up. Sometimes it messes things up in the best possible way.After Jack, Miko and Raf are turned into sparklings, the Autobots must take care of them as they search for a cure. Unfortunately, the Decepticons know about them, and some don't plan on letting the last sparklings live. And when the trio loses their memories, everything gets a little harder. But hey, at least they're cute right?





	1. Chapter 1 The Feeling of Drowning

Jack ducked behind a wall of stone as a Vehicon slammed into his previous hiding place. The Autobots had been investigating a newly discovered mine, one that had previously seemed safe enough to take the teens with them, when they had been jumped by the Decepticons. Now the teens were huddled inside a cavern within the mine.

He pushed Miko down when she tried to peek her head over their cover. She pouted and opened her mouth to complain when something slammed into their cover and sent them flying forward. The teens landed awkwardly a few meters away from their previous hiding place.

Crack!

Jack slowly looked down. The ground beneath him was splitting open. He froze, trying not to cause anymore damage. Miko and Raf were trying to get up, causing the ground to crack even more. "Miko! Raf! Stop moving, or else we'll-" he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, because it was too late. The ground gave way and the teens screamed as they fell into the cavern below.

Jack closed his eyes, expecting death upon impact, when he felt himself hit water. His eyes shot open, only for him to have to close them again when the liquid touched them and made it feel like his eyes were on fire. He screamed in pain, resulting in the liquid, gushing into his mouth, drowning him slowly.

He tried to breath, but there was no more air left in his lungs. He felt himself go numb to the world, and opened his eyes, no longer feeling pain. The liquid was a brilliant bright blue, like energon only brighter and clearer. It wasn't a bad thing to see when you were dying, Jack decided, before his vision faded to black.

 

Then, a voice spoke to him. It was kind and warm, like a mothers soothing tone."

 

_"Hello Jack. You don't know me yet, but trust me. It is not your time yet. I will bring you back, but not the same. You won't remember this conversation at first, but you will in time. Now you must wake up. Wake up Jack. Wake up." ___

__Jack took a shuddering breath, spitting out the liquid. He opened his eyes, glancing around. He was on a bank, alone. 'Where are Raf and Miko? What happened?' he thought to himself. Oh, that's right. The ground had cracked open and they had fallen into the water. Had one of them dragged him out and wandered off?_ _

__He moved to sit up, only for something to for something to fall over his eyes. He muffled a yelp, trying to not make much noise, in case Decepticons were still around. He could still see, the object was like a visor. He raised his hand to flick it up, and froze._ _

__Where he expected to see flesh was now replaced with black metal. His hand was clearly mechanical, and his fingers curved slightly, forming metal claws, the ends tinged with blue. He stared at his hand in shock, mind trying to comprehend what he was seeing. He slowly looked over the rest of his body, mind reeling, trying desperately to make sense of what had happened._ _

__The black metal of his arms melted into a dull silver, leading up to shoulders plated in dark blue. His legs were much like his arms, silver turning to black. His feet were, like the rest of him, now Cybertronian, and thus shaped like it. The ends of his... toes? Were curved, like his fingers._ _

__Jack shakily stood up, trying to adjust to this new form. He warily made his way over to the lakes edge, careful not to lose his balance, lest he fall in. He peered into the liquids reflective surface, and was even more shocked, if that was even possible._ _

__He face looked much like what he imaged Optimus's face had looked like when he was young. Some differences being 3 black spikes on the sides of Jack's face, two small light pink stripes on either side of his face, above his cheeks, and the blue tinted visor. Jack flipped it up and examined his eyes. Bright, glowing blue, with the smallest tinge of very light pink._ _

__Jack would have investigated himself further, but footsteps drew his attention away. Not knowing if they were friendly or not, he decided to risk not being found by the Autobots, and instead decided to escape down a different tunnel, hoping to find his friends._ _

__

__I'm finally doing a Transformers Fanfic, Yay!  
Next chapter will be focussed on Miko and Raf._ _


	2. Chapter 2 Hell Yeah or Hell No?

_"Miko, Raphael needs help. You need to wake up." ___

__Miko coughed and spit up some kind of liquid. She opened her eyes and sat up. This... wasn't the bottom of a lake, nor was it a bank that she might have washed up on._ _

__"What the fuc-"_ _

__She clamped a hand over her mouth, startled by her own voice sounding more like a robot than a human, and her hand when it made a noise like metal hitting metal. She glanced down to see why her hand had made that noise (and why it hadn't hurt) only to freeze._ _

__Her hand was a black metal, thick and strong. Her arm melted into a dark green, darker than Bulkhead. Her shoulders were black and armored, with 4 dark grey spikes on each one. The plating on her chest was a dull pink with her midsection being black with a white middle._ _

__Her legs were the same green as her arms. Her legs ended in thick boot like feet, a glowing pink stripe running up the sides of each one._ _

__Miko couldn't see her head, but she could feel horns, much like what Arcee had described CliffJumper to have. She could also feel two smaller ones in between them._ _

__She contemplated screaming in either fear or excitement, but was interrupted by a call for help. It had a mechanical tone to it, but Miko could recognize it anywhere._ _

__"RAF!"_ _

__Raphael was a smart young boy, capable of figuring out things most adults couldn't._ _

__So it came as a real shock when he somehow stupidly managed to miss fire his newly found blasters and bring some heavy rocks down onto one of his legs._ _

__So now here he was, stuck in a new body completely non human, trapped under a pile of rocks._ _

__"Help!" he cried out for what seemed like the thousandth time._ _

__He was about to give up and just except his fate, when he heard a familiar voice._ _

__"RAF! Is that you?!"_ _

__Miko!_ _

__"Miko, I'm over hear!" he called out._ _

__He heard swift footsteps, but they didn't sound human. Miko rounded the corner, and he saw why._ _

__Like him, Miko had been turned into something else, and looking at her now, it confirmed his hypotheses. A while ago, he had read a data pad on Cybertronian young, more referred to as sparklings. It seemed both he and Miko had somehow been transformed into sparklings. Miko was mostly black, with a white and black face, like a barn owl, and the top of her head was curved, like horns. Her arms and legs were both dark green. Her torso was black with a white belly, and her chest plates were pink, as were the tips of her 'horns'._ _

__Miko stared at Raf. She was only half surprised when she saw that he was changed too._ _

__From what she could see, he had a sleeker build. He was mostly black in colour with a white, mask like face. On his back were two plane like wings, black with a thin line of yellow that looked like a heart beat on a monitor. His arms and legs went from black to grey, with his hands being white. His feet were gray with yellow triangular stripes on the sides. His torso also had yellow stripes, but they zigzagged. His chest plates were white. With a thin line of red along the top. Folded back behind his head was wide, thin blades, very reminiscent of his hair._ _

__Miko realized that one of his legs was trapped under some rocks. She ran over and began to lift._ _

__"Miko, those rocks are pretty heavy. I don't know of you'll-"_ _

__Raf cut himself off when Miko tossed the rocks off of him, seemingly with relative ease. He gaped for a moment, but snapped out of it when she offered him a hand. He stumbled a little, but he managed to find his footing. Even so, he favoured one leg over the other for the moment._ _

__"Raf, have you seen Jack?" Miko asked, hopeful._ _

__Raf shook his head._ _

__"No, i thought he would be with you! I wonder where he is. I hope nothing bad happened to him." he said, voice tinged with worry._ _

__Miko opened her mouth to say some words of optimistic encouragement, when she heard heavy footsteps not to far from them._ _

__"Scrap! Lets get out of here!" she yelped._ _

__The two ran deeper into the tunnel, not knowing where it would lead them._ _

__Next, we focus on the bots!_ _


	3. Chapter 3 Through The Tunnels

Bumblebee fired at the last Vehicon, faceplates shifting up into a smile. They had won this mine, and he was sure they could get a large quantity of energon before the Decepticons came back. He turned to the rest of the team, searching for the humans. He cast his gaze around the room. expecting to see them pop out from behind a rock. Fear began to stir in his spark when he realized that he couldn't see them. He scanned the area. 

NO ORGANIC LIFE FORMS FOUND

...What?

He scanned again, and beeped in distress when the scan came up the same. Optimus stepped closer, face showing some concern. Bumblebee beeped frantically, asking Optimus to scan for the humans. Optimus's optics widened when his scan came up the same. He reached for his com. "Ratchet, what are the human's vitals?" He asked, doing his best to keep the growing panic out of his voice. Perhaps their scanners were glitching? Surely the humans weren't...

He heard Ratchet suck in a breath, and his spark dropped. "Optimus... their life signs... they've gone offline. I can't find any signs of a living organic. I'm..i'm sorry Optimus." the old medic said sadly. Optimus switched off his com, silencing the line. He bowed his head, sadness running through him. The other Autobots picked up on their leaders sudden mood change. 

"Optimus?" Bulkhead said quietly. Bumblebee's optics shrunk. He stepped backwards, refusing to accept what the silence was telling him. He scanned the area for something, anything. Optimus took in a breath, preparing to break the awful news to the team. "Ratchet has informed me that... that the humans have gone offline. He has scanned the area, as have I. There is no sign of organic life." he said somberly. 

The air was still for a moment. No one moved. No one could move.

The silence ended when Bulkhead turned abruptly and punched the wall. Clear energon pricked at the corners of his eyes. Arcee was still processing what she had just heard. Slowly, she raised a hand to her face, and she turned away too, not wanting the team to see her tears. Bumblebee was still scanning the room, not willing to accept the fact that the humans had died. That Raf had died.

A rock fell as he walked, but it didn''t clack against the ground. Instead, it made a splash. Bumblebee turned his head, looking across the large room. Slowly, he made his way across the room, peering at where the rock had gone. He beeped in surprise when he saw a large hole in the floor. Optimus and Bulkhead looked over. Arcee was still turned away, refusing to acknowledge anything. Bee peered into the hole, searching for any signs of life. The water looked like it had been disturbed recently...

He turned and beeped at Bulkhead. The green mech nodded and came over. Bulkhead jumped down into the lake below. Optimus turned back to Arcee. "Arcee, Bumblebee found somewhere that the humans might have fallen into. Are you com-" he cut himself off as Arcee ran towards the hole, jumping in. He waited for her to be out of the way, before jumping in himself.

 

Bulkhead climbed out of the lake, shaking off the remaining liquid. He pulled up his sonar, like Bumblebee had asked, and stomped the ground. Something came up on his scanner. The computer text voice announced the scan.

 

SPARKLING LIFE FORMS DETECTED

Everyone froze. 

"Okay, now i know the scanner must be busted." Bulkhead said, closing the sonar program.

Bumblebee glanced around the small sandy beach. He beeped at the group, pointing down. Small clawed footprints led into a tunnel. Optimus readied his blaster. If whatever was in this cavern had taken the humans, it would pay. The group, as silently as possible, tracked the footprints through the tunnel. Glowing blue energon crystals lined the cave walls, but it was not normal energon.

"Optimus, is this... formulated energon?" Arcee asked, peering at the crystals. The large red mech broke off one of the crystals, examining it. Indeed it was. Formulated energon was what sparklings and beans were given until they were old enough to have low grade. Formulated energon was easily distinguished from any other kind of energon because it was lighter and clearer, almost like tinted water. 

Optimus's attention was pulled away from the crystals when something moved up ahead. Tiny, light, uncertain footsteps barely echoed in the huge tunnels. His thoughts flashed back to the message the sonar had played. He looked back at his team, not surprised to see surprised faces. It seemed that they were all thinking the same thing. 

"Optimus, you don't think..." Arcee said quietly.

The mech nodded, turning back towards where the footsteps were. They would need to approach this carefully.

Arcee stepped forward. "Il go." she whispered. "I'm the smallest and i would probably seem the least threatening." the femme reasoned. Optimus nodded.

Arcee gently crept forward, making her way to the bend in the tunnel. The blue Autobot held her breath as she rounded the corner.

She almost cursed in disbelief.

There, taking another shaky step forward, was a sparkling. A living, breathing sparkling. The femme exhaled softly, before taking in a deep breath. She took a step forward, allowing her presence to be known.

The tiny sparkling jumped and spun, frightened blue optics locking with her own. The sparkling stared for a moment, before opening its mouth.

"Arcee?" it asked in a oh so familiar voice.

...

"Oh. My. Sweet. Fucking. Primus." she cursed quietly. 

That wasn't just a sparkling, it was her partner!

Jack stepped towards her, tiny form shaking. Arcee knelt down and Jack ran over to his partner. She scooped him up in her arms, able to hold him easily. He was even smaller now, smaller than Raf had been. The poor thing was still shaking, mind probably not fully sure how to handle the situation. She pressed her face into his small form, relieved that she hadn't lost another partner.

She stood, holding Jack close to her, who was looking much happier now, and went back around the corner.

As soon as she did, the other Autobots gasped, even Optimus. Bumblebee beeped excitedly, while Boulder and Optimus just stared. Arcee smiled. "Guess who i found." she said, shifting Jack slightly. The small sparkling smiled and waved. "Hi guys." he said in a somewhat shaky voice.

Bumblebee stopped beeping, and Boulder's jaw fell open. Optimus blinked and knelt down. 

"Jackson? Is that you?" he asked in somewhat masked disbelief. The sparkling smiled and nodded. 

"Yeah, it's me. No idea how i got like this though. Last thing i remember is me, Miko and Raf falling into a lake, pain, and then waking up alone, looking like this." he said, gesturing to himself.

Arcee knelt down again, Jack turning to face her. 

"Jack, where are Miko and Raf?" she asked. Jack frowned, a sad look coming over his face.

"I-im not sure. I've been looking for them, but i can't get very far. Im not really used to this body. I keep tripping." he admitted. 

Optimus turned to Bulkhead, who was still in shock. "Bulkhead, do another scan. If Jackson has been changed, then i have a feeling Miko and Rafael have as well." Optimus said, glancing down at Jack.

Bulkhead silently nodded and did another scan. It came up the same. This time, however, Bulkhead pulled up the map of the area. Two small blue dots appeared on the screen. The screen flashed red for a moment, and suddenly a Decepticon symbol appeared in a tunnel close to them. 

Bulkhead snarled and turned, racing back down the tunnel, following the map. Bumblebee shot past him, his smaller frame allowing the scout to slip past the tank. Arcee grabbed Jack, who gave a surprised click as he was suddenly grabbed. Pain shot through his tiny form, and without meaning to, he gave a sharp chirp of distress.

Arcee dropped him suddenly out of shock. Optimus's hand swiftly shot out, and Jack fell into the large mech's palm. Arcee winced. "Sorry Jack! I didn't realize you were so delicate!" she apologized. Jack hissed in pain but nodded. Optimus passed the small sparkling back to Arcee, before running after Bumblebee and Bulkhead. No one caught the concerned look he cast back over his shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4 Together, yet lost

Miko and Raf made their way through the twisting tunnel as fast as they could, trying to stay undetected by whatever was walking around. It could be a Autobot, or it could be a Decepticon. Raf stumbled, bad leg tripping him up. Miko grabbed onto her small friend, keeping him upright. The two ran and ran, until they came to a dead end. 

"Scrap!" Miko cursed. Raf slapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. The sharp noise echoed, bouncing through the tunnel. The large footsteps paused, before drawing closer. Miko stepped in front of Raf, shielding her shaking friend. Miko swallowed in fear as a large, deep purple and black foot appeared from behind one of the tunnels corners. The Vehicon had it's blaster drawn, ready to fight. The Con stopped once it saw what was at the end of the tunnel. The mech stared at the two sparklings, unsure of what to do.

It reached for it's com, sure that this was something deserving to be reported. That, and the Vehicon had never dealt with sparklings before, and thus had no idea on how to approach the situation. It never got to, however, as not a second later a black and yellow fist slammed into the Vehicon's head. The con fell over, the force of the well aimed punch sending the droid into sudden recharge.

Bumblebee clicked an insult at the downed Con, before turning all of his attention towards the two shaking figures at the end of the tunnel. The scout beeped happily at the sight of Miko and Raf, even if their new forms threw him off a bit. Raf smiled and dashed towards his guardian, wanting the familiar comfort the yellow Camaro offered. Bumblebee scooped him up, careful not to injure his now even tinier partner. He rested his face against Raf, spark calming finally. 

Miko peered around Bumblebee, and cheered when she saw her partner.

"BULKHEAD!" the energetic femme yelled in excitement and happiness. Said mech halted, peering down. "Miko! Oh thank Primus you're okay." he breathed, putting his hand down so that his small partner could climb on. Miko was bigger than she had been before, but she was still dwarfed by Bulkhead's huge hand. Bulkhead held his partner near his spark, blinking back tears of relief.

Optimus slowed when he didn't hear any fighting. He rounded the corner, Arcee right behind him, Jack secure in her arms. Just as he had suspected, Miko and Raf had been changed as well. Jack turned and smiled in relief. 

"Miko! Raf! You're okay!" he said, grinning.

Miko and Raf looked at Jack, Miko craning her neck to see. Her eyes lit up.

"Cool! You're just like us!" She chirped happily. After a moment, she cocked her head. "You kinda look like Optimus, but less intimidating." she observed.

Jack and Optimus looked at eachother. They had been so concerned with finding the humans, that they hadn't even really took in what they looked like now. Before anyone could say anything, Optimus remembered something.

"Oh Primus, i forgot to tell Ratchet that the humans are okay." the large mech said, bringing a hand up to his forehead. Miko's eyes sparkled with mischief. 

"Wait, don't tell him yet. I want to scare him! This might be my only chance." she said, rubbing her hands together.

Everyone except Optimus, Jack and Raf smiled. Any opportunity to prank Ratchet was not to be missed. Optimus sighed, relenting. After all, what was the worst that could happen?

 

 

Ratchet sat by the monitor, optics closed in mourning. He hadn't known the children for very long, but they had grown on him, even if he would never admit it. Miko, although destructive and annoying, reminded him of a much younger Bumblebee, zipping around, making mischief. Rafael was the easiest to be around, and the youngster often times reminded him of himself. And then there was Jack. The boy had a strong sense of justice, and was good at keeping Miko out of trouble. Although young, Jack was very mature. He reminded Ratchet of Optimus.

His com buzzed, and Optimus's voice came through, static buzzing the connection slightly.

"Ratchet, open the Groundbridge." he said.

Ratchet sighed and powered up the machine. Would it be himself or Optimus who informed the children's parents that their kids had died on the Autobot's watch? He knew, even though Optimus would not let it show, that his old friend would mourn the children as if he had just lost a sparkling. Many members of the team would.

The old medic didn't even bother to look when the familiar whir of the Groundbridge came alive, green light casting a soft glow into the room. Footsteps echoed slightly as the team returned. No tiny pitter patter of humans running around, just the metal stomps of the Autobots.

Something scraped the surface that Ratchet was resting on, and the mech's head shot up. What had-

"ROARW!

Ratchet jumped and quickly grabbed a wrench, throwing it at the sudden attacker. A solid whack sounded out, quickly followed by a sharp pained chirp. Something went flying back, scraping against the floor.

"OWW! THE HELL RATCHET?!" a familiar voice said, wheezing slightly.

Ratchet's processors shut for a moment. What he had just heard did not match what he was seeing.

That had been Miko, he had heard the migraine inducing voice enough times for him to be sure. Yet on the ground lay something he thought he would never see again. A sparkling, clear as glass. That should have been impossible. Had there somehow been a sparkling trapped in the mine? 

"Miko!" another familiar voice said.

A larger sparkling ran over, this one mostly black, with bits of blue and silver. Its white face scrunched up as it lifted the wrench off of the one on the floor. A third sparkling ran in, this one smaller than the others. It too helped push the wrench off. The one on the floor sat up, clutching its stomach area.

Wait. The biggest one had said Miko... And they had the same voices...

There was only one thing Ratchet could think to say.

 

"WHAT. THE. FUCK. HAPPENED."


	5. Chapter 5 Cuteness and Confusion

Ratchet rubbed his forehead, optics squeezed shut in an attempt to stop the oncoming headache.

"So let me get this straight. You three fell into some kind of lake, woke up like... this, and then immediately almost got yourself caught by a Deception? Ohh boy..." he groaned

The three sparklings sat on the medical berth, Miko holding her stomach. Bulkhead knelt beside the metal table, letting Miko rest in his hands. Ratchet paced, trying to make sense of the situation.

Optimus stepped forward, a concerned look on his face.

"Ratchet, is there anything you can do to change them back?" he asked, casting a glance down at the children.

Before he could speak, something interrupted him. A small, mechanical chirp came from below him. Rafael yawned, tiny wings stretching out. Tired blue optics closed, and the tiny yellow sparkling leaned against Jack, snuggling up to the biggest member of the trio. In the now silent room, it was easy to hear the quiet purring coming from Raf.

Ratchet smiled softly, the rare expression showing itself on the old medics tired face. Bumblebee beeped happily, voice quiet as to not wake the sleeping boy. Bulkhead squeed internally when Miko flopped over as well, the girls energy spent. Jack struggled to keep his eyes open, wanting to be a part of the conversation. But sleep called to him, slowly dragging him under. Within a minute, he had fallen asleep as well, head leaning on Raf's.

Bulkhead slowly slid Miko off of his hand, careful not to wake her. For a moment, it was like there wasn't a war. For a moment, it was like they were back on Cybertron, babysitting a group of sparklings. For a moment, everyone was happy.

Ratchet sighed, breaking the silence.

"I don't know if i will be able to turn them back, but we should go back to that mine and investigate, we will need some of that formulated energon anyways." he said, turning to face Optimus.

Optimus nodded, thanking Primus that they had found an abundance of formulated energon. He couldn't bear the thought of the humans starving to death, especially not when they were like this.

While Optimus and Ratchet prepared the Groundbridge, Bumblebee examined the sparklings, since none of them had gotten a chance too. The scout knelt down, optics flicking over the sleeping forms. Miko was clearly a Wrecker. She was bigger than the average sparkling, as Wreckers were known to be. Bulkhead would be proud.

He looked at Raf next. Raf was small, very small. Small nubs stuck out from behind him, black with yellow markings reminiscent of Ratchet's. Bumblebee was no expert, but it seemed as though the Autobots would finally have a Seeker!

Finally, there was Jack. Jack was the biggest of the three. Was he a Wrecker like Miko?

Bumblebee peered closer. Jack was... odd. He had clawed hands and feet unlike anything Bumblebee had ever seen. Translucent spikes ran along the young sparklings back, between a pair of what looked like wings...

... What was he?


	6. Chapter 6 New Mindset

It was dark when Ratchet and Optimus came back. Ratchet was soaking wet, as was Optimus. In his arms Ratchet carried a large egg shaped object, the surface clear like glass. The rest of the Autobots came over, intrigued by the object in Ratchet's grasp.

"What is it?" Bulkhead asked, staring at the object.

"This, Bulkhead, is the vessel of SparkStarter, an ancient Medic who gave the ability of healing and fertility. I thought for sure that it had been destroyed long ago, but somehow it made its way here. I believe this is how the children became the way they are now." Ratchet said. The old medic sighed. "But if that is the case, i fear i haven't the slightest idea of how to go about even attempting to fix this."

Over on the medical berth, Jack twitched. His audio receptors perked up slightly, flicking towards the conversation being held not too far away. However, he could only catch pieces.

"So they will... never... cant send them home... what will their parents thi... we will have to... like they were our very own... Fowler and June?... Decepticons... unsafe... no other options righ..."

The voices were jumbled together, yet he could make out who was speaking. Were they talking about them?

Jack opened his optics, only to be assaulted with bright light and pain. He cried out, hands flying up towards his now squeezed shut optics. As his body came alive, sharp flashes of pain bounced around inside him, stabbing at his insides. Something was wrong and he wanted it to stop! 

The Autobots attention snapped to the sparklings, surprised by the sudden cry. Miko and Raf jolted awake, only to react similarly. Raf hugged himself tight and curled into himself, while Miko clutched her stomach. Ratchet ran over to the berth, scanning the pained sparklings on the metal surface.

Jack felt something warm and sticky burning his throat, and he coughed, arm flying over his mouth. When he pulled his arm back, he felt himself freeze. Red, warm liquid with swirls of light blue mixed in dripped down his arm and dribbled out of the side of his mouth. He clasped a hand over his mouth in horror.

He turned towards Ratchet, optics blown wide in terror. "Ratchet, are we dying?!" he asked, voice sounding almost like static, blood gurgling in his throat.

The old medic typed furiously at the monitor, optics determined. "Not if i have anything to say about it!" he snarled.

The other Autobots were standing around the berth now, attempting to comfort the distraught sparklings.

"Shh... easy little one, easy" Bulkhead muttered softly as he stroked Miko's back. The small femme was almost sobbing at this point, feeling the blood rising in her throat. 

A small beep alerted Ratchet that the scan was complete. He leaned in, reading through it. His optics widened as he continued reading.

"By the Allspark... how is this possible?" he whispered aloud.

"What is it? Whats wrong with them?!" Arcee barked.

Ratchet turned towards them, sending a pitying glance down at the trio. "It... it appears that some internal organs and other organic material still remains. Once their bodies have completely converted it or removed it, their minds will reset back to basic sparkling instincts, so that they can fully adjust to their new forms." he said.

Miko chuckled, a horrible, choked sound that made the Autobots wince. "That explains why it feels like I'm coughing up a lung!" she joked, smiling weakly.

Before Ratchet or anyone could respond, Jack gave a pained whine, before he went completely limp. His optics dulled, and his breathing stopped. Arcee made a panicked noise as Jack flopped over. Blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth, pooling.

Miko doubled over a moment later, hacking coughs racking her tiny form. Blood splattered out, as well as an actual lung. Miko stared at it for a minute before grinning weakly.

"See, told ya." she chirped before also going limp.

"MIKO!" Bulkhead yelled, optics widening.

Bumblebee beeped loudly as Raf collapsed, blood covering his chest plates. The smallest sparkling took one last shuddering breath, before he grew still.

The room grew quiet, uncomfortably so. Bulkhead cuddled Miko close, energon tears pricking at the wreckers eyes. Bumblebee swiped a digit across his young charges chest plates, trying to wipe the blood off. Arcee said nothing, but she pulled her partner close, placing his limp form on her chest, near her spark.

Optimus felt his spark clench painfully. Seeing the small sparkling's limp forms brought up painful memories. He closed his optics and looked away, not wanting to see anymore.

Ratchet sighed. He knew the trio would be okay, but it still hurt seeing them like this. He may not show it, but he had a soft spot for sparklings. He grabbed a small cloth and reached for Jack to wipe off the blood.

Arcee stiffened and curled Jack in closer, optics narrowing. She pulled back a bit, although she didn't know why. Ratchet sighed exasperatedly. He gently reached over and picked Jack up. He didn't back away, he just cradled Jack gently in his servo, wiping away the blue and red blood.

Jack twitched suddenly, pressing into Ratchet's servo more. He shifted onto his side and smiled when he found a comfortable spot. Ratchet couldn't help it. A smile made its way onto his face.

Beside him, Miko and Raf began to stir. Bumblebee chirped happily as Raf opened his optics, staring up at the scout. Miko stretched and yawned, opening only one optic. Bulkhead sighed in relief.

Raf stared up at the large thing above him. He didn't know what it was, but he felt a bond to it. The Large Thing beeped softly, and Raf's optics lit up. He knew that voice! That voice promised love and protection, this he somehow knew. Something deep inside told him to trust this Large Thing.

Miko didn't know what exactly she was looking at, but she liked the warmth that it provided. The big thing lifted her up and placed her on its chest. Ohhhh it was really warm up here! She snuggled into its chest, feeling the strong beat of something in its chest. It was soothing, and she knew that she would love this being, now and forever.

Jack snuggled into the cool surface, the soft material soothing the ache that racked his body. He felt cramped in this form, trapped almost. His face scrunched up and he stretched, focusing on shifting into his more natural form. Everything moved, and he felt his lungs expand, feeling much better now that they had room. His new form let him move. Breathe. He knew what he was, he was a Predacon. Being like this felt so much better. That nice feeling went away as he was dropped onto a cold surface.

His optics shot open and he yelped, claws grappling for purchase on the slippery surface. He gripped it with his claws, stabilizing himself. Jack looked up with a disbelieving look on his face. What had happened? Three large beings were staring down at him in what looked like shock, all towering over him. Jack felt a odd mix of fear, curiosity and attachment. He wanted to run, but which way? Away or towards? Something pulled him towards them, especially the tallest one. He peered up at the being. What was it to him?

'Sire. He is your Sire. He protects you.' a small, quiet voice explained.

Jack smiled and trotted towards them, tiny wings flapping in excitement. He didn't quite understand the title, but he understood what it meant. He chirped and jumped up, energy filling his body.

Jack wandered over to the red and white one, who was rather stiff. He reached up and placed a talon on its hand. This was not Sire, but he seemed stressed. The red and white one blinked but didn't move. Jack frowned but turned away, wanting to greet the last being.

He felt that same strong pull to this one that he did to Sire. Who was this?

'This is Carrier. She is strong and stubborn, but she is full of love." The voice said.

Carrier. So that's who this was!

He rubbed his head on her servo, the cool material feeling nice on his face. The servo didn't move for a moment, before slowly petting down his spine, flattening his spikes. He purred and leaned in, tail wagging slightly. He opened his optics and stared up at Carrier, and he saw a gaze full of love staring back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, if u like this fic, you can also find it on wattpad! expect quicker updates on there.  
> https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/128187295-from-teens-to-sparklings


	7. Chapter 7 Siblings?

Optimus stared down at the sparkling currently being pet by Arcee. He had heard tales of creatures similar to Jack's new form, how they had demolished Autobots, feeding off of the energon still flowing through them. But it was hard to believe that the tiny thing before him could ever even think about harming another. Soft blue optics peered up at him, and Optimus saw nothing but innocence and love.

Ratchet soundlessly grabbed the cloth and went over to the others, venting quietly. His mind was reeling, but he knew he should get the blood off of the other two before it dried. He did Miko first, dabbing away the small splotches of blood. The femme's face scrunched up and she stuck her tiny tongue out, which was coated in the sticky substance. He made a note to make the children some energon sweets to get the taste out of their mouths.

Finally, he went over to Rafael, who was covered in the now purple mixture. The tiny sparkling sat in Bumblebee's servo quietly, observing his surroundings. The tiny bot's gaze snapped to the Medic, and Rafael smiled, something on his back flicking up and down swiftly. Ratchets optics widened as he realized the appendages were wings. He huffed gently, wiping the blood away. 

" My my, everyone's so full of surprises today, hm?" he spoke softly, smiling.

 

The tiny seeker's optics lit up, and he chirped, giggling softly as the white soft thing swiped over his chest. The small voice that had been explaining what The Big Thing was had piped up again, soft tone filling his mind. 

'That is Carrier. He has a temper like a raging fire, but he cares deeply for you.'

He didn't know what a fire was, but The Big Thing had been called 'Sire', so he assumed the title of Carrier was similar. He chirped again as the white soft thing came back, this time going a little too close to his neck for his liking. 

Raf gave a short warning growl, before leaping forward, tiny clawed hands sinking into the soft fabric. It tor easily, as it had not been made of a strong material. Unfortunately for Raf, this meant that he had launched himself into open air. The tiny sparking gave a high pitched bark of surprise and pain when he smacked into the berth, tumbling forward. His limbs flailed, and he ended up slamming to Jack, who was near the edge of the berth.

Jack yelped as something hit his side, sending him flying over the edge. He twisted out of instinct, trying to find something to grasp onto. His claws scraped the metal edge, sliding off. He screeched, fear filling his tiny form. He fell for only a second, something warm and sturdy breaking his fall. He gripped onto it, afraid that if he let go he would find himself falling again. He felt himself going up, and he soon he was back on the shiny surface that was so far his whole world. Something shifted beside him, and he saw another shaking form beside his own. This small mech was only third his size, but he had puffed his plating out in fear. Jack cocked his head. He hadn't know he had any Broodmates, why hadn't this one been with him? Were there others?

|Hey! You okay?|

Jack looked up. Another being, a femme, hopped down from a large green being, who made a surprised noise. She ran over, a concerned look on her face. Jack nodded shakily before turning to his Broodbrother. The tiny mech nodded, standing up. Jack looked between the two, confusion settling on his face. 

|Brother. Sister. Why do you choose to remain in that form? Why not stretch your wings?| He asked.

The mech and femme looked at each other. 

The femme spoke first. |Ummm, what are wings? Are they those weird things on your backs? And this is my only form, as far as i know.| she said, glancing over herself.

Jack stared in disbelief. |But, but you have horns! And we are Broodmates, are we not?| he said, pointing to the horns on her head.

The small mech spoke up. |I don't think we are... whatever you said. We don't look like each other.| he said, shaking his head.

Jack glanced over them, before looking at himself. He was right, they were all different shapes, sizes and colours. He didn't even know if they were Predacons...

|Well, even if we aren't real Broodmates, can we be siblings?| he asked, stretching his wings out towards them |Im Jack by the way.| he chirped.

The small mech stepped over to Jack's side, snuggling up to him. A sleepy look was on his face. 

|Sure. I'm Rafael, but you can call me Raf.| he said, closing his optics.

The femme walked over and flopped down onto his side, closing her bright optics. 

|Love to be. Its Miko, by the way.| she said, voice trailing off as she fell into recharge.

Jack smiled and curled his tail around Raf, shifting into a comfortable position. He yawned and laid his head down, falling into a peaceful recharge.

 

Ratchet stopped recording. He had started when the trio had started communicating with each other, something that shouldn't have been possible, seeing as Jack was now a Predacon, an ancient Cybertronian hunting race, yet they spoke as fluently as any normal sparklings would. Now it seemed that they had become like siblings, cuddling together for warmth.

It was rather late, and they would need to leave early tomorrow in order to start collecting the energon from the mine, both normal and formulated. But where would the sparklings sleep?

Bulkhead stretched, rolling his shoulders. "Well, it's getting late. We should head to bed, any idea where the kids are sleeping? I really don't feel comfortable leaving them here." he said, looking down at said children.

Bumblebee beeped, gesturing to all of them and then the kids. Ratchet nodded.

"Good idea Bumblebee. That would be the safest option, besides putting them in a box..." he said, optics darting towards a cardboard box in the corner of the room.

Optimus's optics narrowed slightly and he gently picked up the sleeping trio, holding them close to his spark.

"Ratchet, there is no way in the Pit that i am letting you put the children in a cardboard box. If no one else wants to, i will keep the children with me." He said, shooting a glare at one of his oldest friends, who actually shrunk back a bit, for suggesting and considering such an idea. 

Unbeknownst to all but a few, the Prime adored sparklings. It was why he had practically jumped at the idea to help protect the Youth Center so many vorns ago. It was also why it was so utterly devastating to be there when it was destroyed. 

Just thinking about that painful memory made him clutch the trio tighter.

Bumblebee beeped, raising his hand. Bulkhead nodded quickly. 

"Yeah, and i can take Miko. Im not too keen on the box idea either." he said, casting a look at Ratchet, who huffed.

"Why is everyone so against the box idea?" he muttered, throwing his hands up. He was currently done. Time for recharge.

Optimus nodded and passed each charge over to their respective guardian. He turned to Arcee, ready to ask if she would like her partner, when Jack twitched, optics opening.

 

Jack whined. He was tired, why had he been woken up? He glanced around, looking for who dared awaken him. His optics found those of his Sire's, and his annoyance ceased. He pressed his face into his Sire's chest, sighing happily. He chirped quietly, a small purr vibrating in his chest.

 

Optimus froze, looking down at the sparkling curled up in his arms.

'MY sparkling. My perfect little sparkling.' His spark corrected, humming quietly.

Optimus shook his head slightly. Where had that come from? He shifted slightly, looking at Arcee. The femme just smiled. 

" I think he might want to stay with you tonight. See you tomorrow boss bot." she said, heading for her room.

Optimus nodded and began walking towards his quarters, a fond smile on his face.


	8. Scheming on the Nemesis

Megatron rested his chin on his servo, thinking. One of the Vehicons that had been sent to retrieve energon from the mine had brought back some most intriguing news. Two sparklings had been found in the mine, alone. But it seemed the Autobots had taken them in, as the Vehicon had been attacked. They had foolishly forgotten about the drone, thus allowing it to return to the Nemesis.

Honestly, Megatron was deeply confused. How had two sparklings survived this long alone? How had they ended up on this miserable planet? Were there more? He wanted answers.

"Soundwave! I require your presence immediately." he said, voice as cold as ever.

A few moments later, the faceless Decepticon wordlessly walking towards his lord. He lifted his head slightly, showing that he was listening. Megatron stood from his throne.

"It appears that we have been presented with a most surprising opportunity. Two sparklings have been spotted, possibly the last sparklings. Unfortunately, they currently reside with the Autobots. I want you to scan any area with Autobot activity for sparklings. Find and retrieve them by any means necessary." he ordered.

Soundwave didn't move for a moment, wings dropped slightly out of shock. Finally, after a moment, he raised a clawed hand to his face, and did something Megatron had only seen him do a few times.

He flipped up his mask.

Brilliant white optics stared at Megatron, shock written all over his scarred, pale grey face.

"Sir... this isn't some cruel joke, right? Megatronus i swear to Unicron and Primus if you are lying..." he said, ice filling his broken voice.

Megatron blinked in honest surprise before scowling.

"Really Soundwave, do you think so little of me? I'm not Starscream for Unicron's sake! Now get going before i throw you off of this ship!" he snarled, pointing towards the exit.

Soundwave stood there for a moment, piercing optics searching Megatron's own, before he flipped his mask back down and left as soundlessly as he had arrived.

Starscream hid behind the doorway, listening in on the conversation. His red optics narrowed. 

"Hmmm... I thought for sure the explosion had killed them all. Oh well, it's just two more inferior beings i get to torture before i snuff their sparks." he said to himself, a small grin forming on his face as he walked towards the runway. 

He had some sparklings to hunt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof short chap i know im sorry! But more is comming soon!


	9. Dreams and energon cubes

Jack blinked. He was floating in the air, but he wasn't flying. Light grey and blue sparkles moved around him, light trailing behind them. He giggled when one brushed across his muzzle. When he opened his optics again, someone was floating in front of him. It was a femme. She was light green with swirls of silver and gold. Her optics were two different colours, one green and one blue. But the most striking thing about her was the wings on her back. They were not see through like his or flat like Raf's. Instead, they were feathered. Thin silver melted into a shimmering white tipped with black. The femme smiled softly and extended a wing, pulling Jack closer to her.

Jack perched on her wing, gripping the metal slightly so that he couldn't float away easily. He looked up at her optics, and frowned when he saw that they were sad. He cocked his head and patted her wing, trying to comfort her. The femme started gently petting Jack, soft, cool servos smoothing down his spines.

"Oh Jack, i wish i could make it so that you and your friends would never come to harm." she said sadly.

Jack perked up. He knew that voice! That was the voice that had spoken to him before. He climbed onto her hand, climbing up her arm. He sat down on her shoulder, pressing against her face. Her face was cold, and Jack couldn't help the shiver that ran through him. The femme chuckled.

"Sorry about that. You tend to be fairly cold when you're dead." she said, picking Jack up.

Jack tilted his head. What was 'dead'? He wiggled slightly, wanting to move. The femme smiled again and let go, letting Jack float. The predacon flapped his wings, squeaking happily as he propelled himself around, tumbling in the air. The femme flapped her wings once, sending a gust of warm air over Jack. 

"Come small one, i shall gather your friends and teach you about your world." she said, snapping her fingers.

The sparkles began swirling around, melting together. The femme gathered Jack in her arms, flying into the mass of sparkles.

 

Miko jumped again, cheering. This place was so fun! She flipped through the air, twisting around. Pink sparkles zipped around, flicking past her. She chirped in surprise when something tackled her, sending them spinning. Piercing blue optics stared into her own and she cheered again. 

|Jack! You're here to? Cool!| she said excitedly.

Jack smiled and jumped back, tiny wings beating swiftly. It was then that Miko noticed the femme behind Jack. Her optics lit up. She was huge! And she had awesome things on her back! 

The femme laughed. 

"Glad to see you aren't afraid of me, although i suppose none of you know true fear yet. Come, let's go see Rafael." she said, curling one of her wings around Miko. 

 

Raf floated quietly. Small yellow sparkles appeared and disappeared, flashing in the inky black space. A cool breeze gently wrapped around him, softly blowing over him. He watched the sparkles flicker, and he tried to match them, flickering the lights on his wingtips. He closed his optics, settling in the silence.

|HI RAF!|

Raf jolted up, head snapping to the source of the noise. 

Miko was waving her hands, peeking out from behind a giant wing. Jack was flying around, captivated by the flashing sparkles. Raf's attention, however, was held by the large femme holding Miko.

|Who are you?| he asked quietly.

The femme smiled softly. "My name is SparkStarter. I am a spirit from a time long past, and i am here to guide you and teach you what your guardians cannot." she explained.

Raf mouthed 'woah' as sparkles swirled around SparkStarter, creating a ball of light. The ball flashed once, colour flooding into it. When it was done, it was all sorts of colours. Blue, green, yellow and white were the most common ones.

"This is your home planet. It is called Earth. The dominant species here is a race called Humans. Humans both create and destroy. Some can be trusted, some cannot. Do not show yourself to them unless your guardians tell you it is okay. Many humans would fear you, and what humans fear, they try to destroy." she said, a small bit of venom tainting her normally soothing, kind voice.

Raf tapped SparkStarter's shoulder, gaining her attention.

|Uh, Miss SparkStarter, what are guardians?| he asked quietly.

The ancient femme's smile returned, and she flicked her wing. The orb shifted, becoming a flat rectangle. 5 familiar faces appeared on it. The trio made happy noises when they saw their Carrier's and Sire's faces.

"These five are your current guardians. Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. Bumblebee, the loyal scout. Arcee, swift and deadly. Bulkhead, a tank with a heart of gold. And Ratchet, the medic with a temper to rival an active volcano. You will meet mechs later on who could also be your guardians, but that part of your destiny is out of my servos I'm afraid. Truthfully, i can't help you all that much. I can't even reveal certain things yet, or it could send us all spiralling into a bad future." she said, wings fluttering slightly.

She took a deep breath and sighed.

"Listen young ones. I know bad things are going to happen. I just don't know what. I can only see so far, before your paths become too tangled for me to understand. Your future is uncertain, but i have faith that you will be alright. Trust your instincts, beware strange Humans, and always look into someones optics. Optics are the gateway to the spark, their soul. If you cant find one, run." she warned, face serious.

The three nodded, slightly afraid but understanding. SparkStarter dipped her head in satisfaction.

"Good. I'm glad you understand. Now, i will return you to the waking world. Good luck, my Peacemakers." she said, voice fading.

 

Jack blinked slowly, the light from his optics casting a dim glow. What an nice yet odd dream.

Groowwwll...

Jack felt a pang of pain echo through his middle. He groaned and curled up slightly, tail twitching unhappily. He knew what that meant. He was hungry.

Jack looked around, realizing that he was no longer on the shiny flat surface. This surface was warm, and he could feel something pulsing slightly beneath him. He lowered his head again, and found that he could hear and feel something beating strongly.

'That is your Sire's Spark. All Cybertronians have one.' SparkStarter's voice chimed.

Jack looked around. This did not look like Sire's chest. He was on a soft black material, surrounded by dull silver metal.

'This is his Alt mode. It is your second form.' the femme's voice said.

Jack stood up. So this is what Sire became. Interesting, but this did not help his food situation. It seemed that Sire was sleeping... how could he wake him up?

Jack thought for a moment, before just deciding to go with the first thought that popped into his mind.

He backed up a bit, crouching down. He locked onto his prey, the metal wall. With a burst of energy, he shot forward, head butting the metal.

Optimus snapped out of recharge when he felt a light bump against his door from the inside. It seemed that his tiny cargo had awoken. He transformed, shifting into his bipedal form. Jack clung to his servo, optics wide. Optimus couldn't help the chuckle that rose from his throat at the sparkling's face. Jack snapped out of it soon enough and turned to the Prime, a annoyed look on his face.

"What?" Optimus asked, amused.

The sparkling growled, tiny tail flicking back and forth. Optimus stared, unsure of what Jack wanted.

Growwwllllll....

Optimus slapped his face with his free servo. He was _hungry _. Why else would a sparkling wake up so annoyed?__

__Optimus sighed and walked out of his room. He would need to go and retrieve some formulated energon for Jack. Said sparkling seemed pleased that Optimus seemed to understand what he wanted._ _

__Ratchet was examining the relic when Optimus walked in. The medic put down the object and turned his attention to his friend and leader._ _

__"Optimus, what are you doing up this early?" he asked._ _

__Optimus gestured to Jack, who was sitting politely in the palm of Optimus's servo._ _

__"He decided that he was hungry, not surprising considering how much stress he had been under. No doubt Miko and Rafael are also in need of energon. Can you watch him while i go and retrieve some?" he asked._ _

__Ratchet nodded slightly._ _

__"Sure, just be quick. I don't want him to try and chew on my digits, not with his sharp teeth." he said, looking at Jack._ _

__Optimus placed Jack down on the medical berth while Ratchet fired up the ground bridge. Jack watched in awe as the portal swirled to life. His awe turned to panic when Optimus walked through and disappeared._ _

__

__|Sire? SIRE?! WHERE DID YOU GO? WHY ARE YOU LEAVING? DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG?| he screeched, wings fluttering in panic._ _

__

__Ratchet jumped when Jack started screeching like mad. Sad, panicked cries filled the medics audio receptors._ _

__" Frag. Uh, it's okay. It's okay. Optimus won't be gone for long. Sweet Primus why me..." he muttered, trying to calm the frantic sparkling before a migraine assaulted his processors._ _

__

__Jack curled up in a ball and sobbed. It felt like this had happened before, and his head hurt because he didn't know why._ _

__Suddenly, he felt very heavy. He couldn't even lift his head and his sight blurred. This combined with more pain made the sparkling even more scared._ _

__

__Ratchet swore when Jack went limp. A quick scan confirmed his fears. Jack was running on fumes, and his body wouldn't last much longer. And he couldn't put him into recharge because of the risk of Jack's systems shutting down and sending him into stasis lock._ _

__The medic reached up to his com._ _

__"Optimus, Jack is running on fumes here. It's bad, really bad. You need to hurry." he barked, preparing what they would need to make the crystals into cubes._ _

__"I'm on my way, open the ground bridge." Optimus replied._ _

__

__A few seconds later, Optimus appeared through the ground bridge portal, carrying the blue crystals in his arms. Ratchet ran over and grabbed one, rushing back over to his lab. Optimus quickly placed the rest on the ground before hurrying over to the medical berth._ _

__

__Jack made a happy chirp when his Sire's face came into view. He couldn't see much now, but he could still make out some things. With a great amount of effort, he managed to smile. Why was it so hard to do that? Was everything getting more blurry?_ _

__Something pricked his chest, and suddenly his vision cleared. Energy flowed pack into him, and the pain receded to a dull ache in his middle. He sat up, shaking a little. Colour flooded his vision and he saw the relieved face of his Sire smiling at him. Something shifted inside his chest, and when he looked down, he saw a small clear cylinder, half filled with a blue liquid. He went to bat at it, when a large digit moved his talons away._ _

__

__"Up up up up, no knocking that needle out. Not until i get your energon ready." Ratchet admonished._ _

__

__Jack perked up. Energon? Was that food? His tail began to wag when Ratchet returned with a small cube in his servo. The medic placed it down in front of the small predacon, stepping back._ _

__

__"Alright, let's see how he likes this. This ought to be entertaining." Ratchet said, a half smirk forming._ _

__

__Jack sniffed the cube. It smelled pretty good, but further investigation was required. First, was it alive?_ _

__He raised a talon and struck the cube, satisfied when it fell over and did not move._ _

__Next, what did it taste like?_ _

__He flicked his tongue out, swiping it over the cubes flat surface. Energy popped and crackled in his mouth, a slightly sweet taste accompanying it._ _

__Jack trilled and pounced on the cube, viciously attacking his square prey. He tor into it, breaking through the thin surface, exposing the light blue liquid inside. He stuck his head in, lapping it up. Energy jolted and coursed through his whole being. His wings flared out when he fell forward, side crumbling. His front talons landed in the energon, coating them in it. His face scrunched up in displeasure as the liquid made his legs and joints feel sticky. He hissed at the offending cube's contents, looking up at his Sire for help._ _

__

__Ratchet sniggered at the sight before him. Jack's entire front half was coated in formulated energon, and the sparkling was obviously not happy. Optimus chuckled and picked Jack up, lifting the sparkling out of the sticky liquid. He placed him onto the berth, careful not to drop him._ _

__

__Jack cast a glare at the cube's utterly destroyed form before strutting off, wandering over to the edge of the metal surface. He began licking at his leg, when he found himself being picked up again._ _

__

__"Come on little one, lets get you in a bath while we wait for Miko and Rafael." Ratchet said, carrying him towards the base's exit._ _

__

__Jack tilted his head. What was a bath?_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chap, Jack learns of a child's worst nightmare, bath time.


	10. Two kinds of baths

Jack had decided that baths were the absolute most bad thing.

Ratchet had brought Jack to something called a river, and put him in it.

It. Was. Horrible.

The liquid, Ratchet had called it water, was freezing cold. It rushed over him, chilling every joint and wire. His wingtips felt numb, and he was pretty sure something had brushed over his back talons. Almost certainly a fearsome predator that wanted to eat him.

So of course he bolted.

He had tor out of the river so fast, Ratchet had gotten sprayed with cold water. Jack hadn't even stopped to laugh or apologize, he was only concerned with escaping the circuit numbing water.

 

Ratchet blinked in surprise before his processors caught up with what had just happened.

"Ohhhh no. You are not pulling a Bumblebee on me mister. Get back here!" He yelled, chasing after the fleeing sparkling.

 

Miko sat quietly, taking in her new surroundings. When they had woken up, she and Raf had almost immediately been given their first meal. Personally, Miko would like her energon to have more spark and less sweet, while Raf was the opposite, disliking the fuzzy feeling the energy gave him. After they had eaten, Bumblebee and Bulkhead had taken them to a place called "Outside" to learn about Earth.

*Hissssss*

Miko turned her head, optics searching what Bulkhead had called sand. What had-

The femme's thoughts were halted when something lunged at her, springing out from under a rock. Miko squeaked and acted on instinct. She punched her attacker, sending it flying. The femme then turned and bolted behind her guardian's pedes. Raf, who had witnessed the event, had decided to hide behind Bumblebee.

 

Bulkhead looked down, surprised to see Miko hiding behind his ped. Bumblebee was confused for much the same reason. He was about to ask what was wrong when he saw something slither away. A quick scan revealed that it was a diamondback rattlesnake, one of the 12 venomous snake species that lived in Nevada. He panicked for a second, before remembering that things like that were no longer a threat to their charges. 

"Heh, it's okay Miko, the snake can't hurt you." he said, rubbing her back soothingly.

Miko purred and wandered out from behind his ped. Bulkhead watched as she chased after the poor reptile, fear forgotten. Raf also stepped out of hiding, but chose to just sit on a rock close to his guardian. 

 

Optimus stepped out of the base, stretching. The planet's sun warmed him, the heat chasing out the cool feeling of their underground home. Arcee was not far behind him, the metal on her back fanning out as much as it could. One of Optimus's favorite things about this planet was the calming effect the morning sun had on Cybertronians, or at least the Autobots. Sunbathing was a luxury they often couldn't afford, but with the lack of Decepticon activity recently and the surplus of energon they now had, as he had returned to the mine with Arcee after Ratchet had left with Jack, now seemed like the perfect time for some much needed relaxing.

The two Autobots made their way to the secluded area the where rest of the team was. It was a small meadow like area that had a nearby small river, and plenty of rocks for the young ones to climb on. Plus it was hard for humans to get to, unless they had climbing gear. But the area was fairly far away from any civilization., so the chances of someone hiking out to this exact spot, in the summer, was very low.

Optimus transformed back into his bipedal form, walking over to Bulkhead and Bumblebee, who were watching Miko and Rafael play a game of what looked like tag. Rafael appeared to be winning, as he was faster then Miko. Arcee transformed as well, looking around.

"Where's Jack?" she asked.

Optimus opened his mouth to answer, only to be abruptly cut off.

"JACKSON GET BACK HERE! YOU WILL TAKE A BATH WEATHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" 

Ratchet's yelling was immediately followed by chirps and squeaks of protest.

A blur of black and blue barreled into Miko and Raf, earning surprised squawks and chirps. The three sparklings ended up in a pile, Jack dazed on the bottom, Raf's legs squished in the middle, and Miko sprawled on the top. Miko growled in annoyance and bopped Jack on the head, yelling in their sparkling language. Jack whined an apology, before chirping in alarm when he saw a very ticked off Ratchet.

The predacon flattened himself in the sand, holding his breath. Ratchet huffed. Many sparklings had the mentality that if they held still and didn't make any noise, that they would become invisible. They learned pretty fast that they were quite wrong.

"Come on. You were only in there for a second, and i see no reason for you to be afraid of a catfish." he muttered, arms crossed. 

Optimus stepped forward. "I'll take him. Perhaps he will listen to me better." he said, reaching down and grabbing the sparkling, who latched onto his digits.

Ratchet threw up his servos. "Sure. Fine. Whatever. Just don't be surprised when he tries to bolt." he said, scowling.

Optimus smiled fondly. "He pulled a Bumblebee, didn't he."

"Yup."

 

 

After Optimus had convinced Jack that the water was not the worst thing in existence, he didn't just put him in the river. Even he thought the water was a bit cold, as the sun had not been able to warm it yet. Instead, he cupped the water gently in his servo and heated it so that it was pleasantly warm. Then he slowly poured it over Jack, who decided that he liked warm water. The little Predacon snapped at the falling water, spitting it out in surprise when it didn't taste like energon. 

After he finished washing Jack, Optimus scooped the sparkling into his servo and transformed into his vehicle mode. Jack was surprised at first, and a little cautious, but soon he found great enjoyment in sticking his head out of Optimus's window. When they reached the meadow, Optimus transformed back, setting Jack down.

 

Jack watched his Sire transform, changing into his normal form. Jack looked down at himself. Perhaps he should try and get used to his other form, then he would fit in better!

So he closed his Optics and focused on shifting into his Alt form. His wings folded back, his arms and legs shifted and turned, and his horns slipped back, his visor coming out. He opened his optics and grinned. His insides didn't feel squashed anymore, and he could actually breathe. He looked up at the shocked faces of the Autobots, and his grin faded. Had he done something wrong.

 

Optimus, as if reading Jack's thoughts, smiled and reached down, petting Jack's head lightly. Even though they had seen him do it before, it was still surprising.

"That is very impressive Jack, most sparklings can't do that until they are a bit older." he praised. 

Jack's grin returned, this time wider. He purred at the affectionate touches, loving the attention.

 

The team settled into their spots, getting comfortable. They were in their vehicle modes, just incase. Miko leaned up against Bulkhead's right back tire, preferring to recharge in the shade. Raf was resting snugly between Bumblebee's and Ratchets front tires, liking the close feeling. Jack was sprawled out on a rock between Arcee and Optimus, wanting to be as close to the sun as possible. Optimus cast one last look around before slipping into a sun filled recharge.

Perhaps if he had looked harder, he might have noticed the silver Mini-Cassette circling far above them.


	11. Soundwave

Jack's tail twitched when he felt something crawl over it. He snapped awake, whirling his head around. A creature with 8 legs scuttled across the sand. A cold, prickling feeling ran up his spine. He growled softly, standing up. This creature had dared to awaken him from recharge, for this it would pay. He swiped at it, flinging it across the sand. It landed on its back, legs flailing. He approached it slowly, body low to the ground. He peered at it, batting it. It was bigger than his paw like talons, and its body was covered it short, prickly things. He smacked again, and soon it became a game. Jack would smack the poor creature, and then he would chase after it.

Eventually, he grew bored with the creature, and decided to go back, figuring it had learned its lesson. He stopped immediately when he realized he was alone. The Autobots were nowhere to be seen, sand and rocks being his only company. Jack whined, looking around. He chirred, hoping to hear a response. Nothing.

Now he was beginning to panic. The sun was becoming uncomfortable, and he felt a sharp pang of hunger. He cried out again, energon pricking at his optics. Behind him, he heard the sound of metal shifting. He turned around, expecting to see one of his friends, only to see someone entirely new. 

This mech was different. Instead of the bright colours he was used to, this stranger was a silverish grey with purple glowing lines on his frame. Wings were part of his arms, it seemed. The oddest thing, however, was that this mech didn't have a face. 

It was this factor that made Jack uneasy. He liked being able to read bots faces. The sparkling shifted, unsure of how to react. 

The mech knelt down on one knee, body relaxed. He raised a servo to his face and flipped it up, revealing a normal face underneath. Jack chirped happily, trotting closer to investigate. This mech's face was almost as pale as his own. Many faint lines covered his face, but what caught the Predacon's attention was his optics. Instead of the energon blue he had seen, the strangers optics were a striking purple.

The mech smiled. "Hello little one, i wasn't expecting to find you, although this is one surprise i enjoy. My name is Soundwave. " he spoke softly, voice a bit crackly.

Jack papped the mech's leg, wanting to be picked up. Soundwave hummed and complied, lifting Jack up. 

"I wish i could take you with me, im planning on surprising Breakdown and Knock Out, as those two are the only ones remotely qualified to take care of a sparkling, besides me. But unfortunately i can't get your friends right now, so how about this, whenever you get the chance, look for Laserbeak, he's the mini-cassette up there. If you see him, take your friends and follow him. Make sure no one sees you okay? It's sort of like a game. And if you can do that, i'll teach you to fly." he finished.

Jack wings fluttered at the mention of flight. He liked Soundwave, he decided.

"Okay, now i have to go, so just walk that way to get back to the Autobots. Oh, and don't mention me, okay?" he said, stepping back to transform.

Jack nodded eagerly, chirping a goodbye before running back the way he came. Soundwave flipped his mask back down and transformed, flying off.


	12. Guilt is an ugly emotion

Jack trotted back to the Autobots just as Miko and Raf onlined. Miko chirped in greeting, skipping over. Raf stretched and yawned, but stayed where he was, leaning into Bumblebee's tire with a sleepy face. Jack suddenly got a playful idea. He crouched, shifting into his true form. He growled softly and pounced onto Miko. The femme squeaked but soon retaliated, kicking her legs out and striking Jack in the belly, shoving him off. Jack rolled, sand flying up. He sneezed as sand got all over his muzzle, clogging his air vents. Miko laughed at the ridiculous noise. Jack glared and pounced again, biting her arm softly. 

Miko yelped, startled, and punched Jack in the jaw, sending the poor mech flying into a rock. Jack chirped in alarm as he hit the rock, wincing as his delicate metal was roughly scraped and scratched. Bits of rock embedded themselves into his back, and he hissed as they dug in when he moved. Miko's hands flew to her mouth in horror. She chirped an apology, running over to her friend. Raf squeaked and ran also, accidentally waking Ratchet.

Ratchet groaned as roused from recharge. He transformed and opened his optics, looking for what had woken him up. He inhaled sharply when he saw Jack slide down a rock, small splatters of energon streaking down its smooth surface. 

"Jack!" he shouted, striding over.

Optimus snapped awake at Ratchet's yell. He didn't even remember transforming, but apparently he had as he was now crouching beside Jack, holding him gently in the palm of his servo. The sparkling nuzzled his servo gently, whining softly. He turned to Ratchet, who was shooing away the other younglings, who were running back to their guardians anyways.

"What happened?" he asked, optics narrowed slightly.

Ratchet huffed, crossing his arms. 

"Don't look at me! He was like this when i onlined. The younglings must have been playing and an accident occurred. Here, give him to me, i'll take him inside." the medic said, gently taking Jack.

Jack gripped onto Optimus's servo, expecting to be dunked into a river again. Optimus gently lifted Jack up, placing him into Ratchet's waiting servos. 

"Go on. Ratchet will patch you up. I will come as well, if it makes you feel any better." he said, rubbing Jack's head affectionately. 

Jack purred, rubbing against the large digit. He settled into Ratchet's palm, who muttered something about him 'finally behaving'. He glared, but eventually just laid down as he was carried inside. The constant movement made him feel stressed, however, and the thought of flight entered his mind. 

As soon as the metal shine of the berth came into his view, he launched himself forward, wings snapping out. Unfortunately, gravity was different here than it was in the dream world, so he dropped out of the air. Jack screeched, until once again he was caught with expert care. He pressed himself into the warm metal, glancing up at the shocked and worried face of his Sire.

A new emotion flowed into him, settling cold and heavy in his belly. It squirmed and shifted, and Jack whined sadly, not fully understanding what it was, but knowing that he had done something wrong. 

'Guilt, young one. You are feeling guilty.' SparkStarter said.

Guilt, Jack decided, was something he never wanted to feel again.


	13. Not all humans are good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and friends descover that not everyone they meet is friendly.
> 
> Poor Jack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I L I V E
> 
>  
> 
> also my son Bumblebee is getting a movie and honestly i expected to feel attacked but im having such a good time right now.
> 
> Soft boi, friend shaped.

Jack crouched low on the table, wincing as the bits of rock sunk in. The metal shifted around them, trying to remove the debris so that it could heal. He hissed when Ratchet gently held him down, the medic holding a pair of small tweezers.

"Now hold still, this won't take too long..." Ratchet said, picking out the first rock.

Jack whined and rested his head on his paws, trying to stay still.

 

When Ratchet was done, Jack stood up and shook himself, feeling the metal on his back smooth out. He purred and affectionately headbutted Ratchet's hand. The medic huffed and patted the Predacon's head. Optimus lowered his hand and Jack stepped onto it, careful not to fall off. The trio made there way back outside to spend a few more hours outside.

 

Jack perched on a dead branch, watching the Earth's glowing sun set softly behind the horizon line. Soft pink clouds floated by, swirling in the desert breeze. The more time he spent taking information in, the more he understood about everything on Earth. As he watched, a small glint of metal caught his optic. A bird like form circled far above him. Laserbeak. Jack waved slightly, too tired to do much enthusiastic greeting.

"Okay Jack, let's go back now."

Arcee smiled as her old partner sleepily climbed down the tree. The sparkling yawned and padded over to her, transforming back into his bipedal form. Arcee picked him up and transformed herself. Jack gripped onto her handlebars, optics wide.

"Hold on tight!" She laughed, engine revving.   

 

Jack launched off of Arcee as soon as they made it into the base's main room, legs wobbling. Arcee chuckled at the sight. Bulkhead and Bumblebee pulled in, letting their wards out. Miko slowly hopped out, but she didn't walk over. Jack waved, smiling. Miko looked over, a surprised look on her face. Jack huffed and strode over, giving her a hug.

Miko stiffened, before returning the hug.

|It's okay, i know you just reacted.| he chirped.

The femme sniffed and rested her head on Jack's shoulder, a smile resting on her faceplates. Jack patted her back and stepped back, yawning. Miko rubbed her eyes and yawned as well. Bulkhead smiled and picked the two up, glancing at Bumblebee as the scout scooped up Raf, who was almost falling over. 

Jack smiled sleepily as his tail swayed from the motion of Bulkhead walking. His optics closed slowly, and he almost drifted off to sleep.

Until a black car drove into the base.

Jack forced himself to wake up, head raising. A creature not too much bigger than him stepped out. His memory flashed back to his dream, and he determined that this was a human.

Bulkhead stiffened. 

:Scrap! I forgot Fowler was visiting today!: he whispered in Cybertronian.

Optimus froze, only for a second. Now they had to face their biggest problem, explaining the situation to the humans...

"Prime! Apparently, 3 certain kids didn't show up at home today... mind explaining?!"

Jack shrunk back. The humans voice was harsh and loud. He hissed at the intruder, tail lashing.

Fowler jumped and looked up. "SWEET LADY LIBERTY! Is that a dragon?!" he exclaimed, stepping back.

Prime sighed. "No Agent Fowler, what you are seeing is not a... dragon. That... is young Jackson Darby."

The large man froze. Slowly, he put a hand to his wrinkled forehead. 

"Oh my sweet Lord, what did you bunch do?"

 

After awhile of explanations, Fowler sighed. 

"Poor kids. Your sure there's no way to turn them back? Damn. Alright, il see what i can do to cover this up... god im going to have to fake these kids deaths and lie to their parents about it! Christ..."

Fowler mumbled to himself as he drove out of the base. Jack relaxed once more now that the human was gone.

 

Jack jolted awake, optics wide. A chill shot through him like freezing Energon, filling him with discomfort. His systems were on high alert. He didn't know why he had woken up, but he felt the need to get to safety.

As quickly as he could, he stood up. He was on top of his Sire's chest. Looking down, he hopped onto the surprisingly soft surface that his Sire was resting on. Urgently, he pulled on his Sire's hand. Nothing. His systems were going haywire now, and it was stressing him out, and he didn't know why. His processors hurt, and it felt like he was forgetting something.   

Running now, he skittered across the stone and metal floor, following two familiar pulls. One led him to Miko.

|Miko! Wake up!| he said, shaking her.

The green femme slowly roused from slumber, blinking tiredly.

|Jack? It's the middle of the night, why are you waking me up?| she asked, not bothering to stiffle a small yawn.

| I don't know why, but i feel like something really bad is going to happen. I don't feel safe here, and i don't feel comfortable leaving you and Raf here, will you come with me?| he asked, voice tense and anxious.

Miko stared at him for a moment, the soft glow of her boots illuminating her tired and confused face. Finally, she nodded slowly, and slid off of Bulkhead.

Next was Raf. The tiny seeker was nestled in beside Bumblebee's front left tire, sleeping soundly. Jack shook him awake, and asked if he would come with him. Raf suddenly looked more awake and nodded swiftly, looking anxious now.

The three made their way out of the base, following Jack as he followed his instincts, which were conflicting. One side, his Predacon side, said to get out into the open so that he wasn't trapped. The other side, his Sparkling side, said to go and hide with Sire, to seek the safety of a group. He chose to listen to his Predacon instincts.

After searching for a bit, they found a entrance that Jack assumed was for humans, because of hiw small it was. He headbutted the door until he heard a satisfying snapping noise. The door swung open, revealing the desert. The night time air was cool and cold, and Jack breathed it in, dispite not needing to.

Once they were outside, Jack simultaneously felt better and worse. Better because now he could see his true surroundings, and worse because the feeling of dread only hit him harder.

Looking up, his optics found Laserbeak. The mini casset also seemed to see him, as it swooped down. Miko and Raf jumped back, Raf almost turning and running back to the base. Jack approached Laserbeak, taking in the new beings appearance. Laserbeak was a sleek dark grey-ish purple mini casset that shone slightly in the moonlight.

Laserbeak squaked at Jack before taking flight, circling to insure that the Sparkling's were following. It had a job to do after all.

Jack kept pace with the mini casset, Miko and Raf trailling nervously behind him. Raf kept looking back at the ever distancing base. 

Jack stopped suddenly. Miko bumped into him.

|Oof! Jack, what the heck are you stopping for?| she complained, rubbing her optics.

Jack didn't respond. He just froze in place. Warnings were flashing everywhere now, screaming at him that something bad was coming. The Predacon reared up, head swiveling rapidly as he tried to see where the danger was.

Raf's wings were buzzing with unreleased tension and Miko wad begining to back up, her fists raised. Laserbeak circled back, it's head tilting. What was-

A surge of electricity struck Laserbeak, sending it spiraling down. Quickly, it contacted its master that something had gone wrong, before it hit the desert sand.

Jack roared in fear as a heavily armed car burst through a sand dune. It slid across the ground, sand flying everywhere, and stopped behind Raf, blocking their way back to the base. Jack whirled around and shoved Miko and Raf towards an opening.

|RUN! DON'T STOP RUNNING!|he screamed, optics wide.

Not needing to be told twice, the two booked it as fast as they could, sprinting away. Jack transformed and began to run after them, but a searing surge of electrical pain enveloped him, sending him down to the ground.

Sand flew into his joints, but that hardly even registered as an electric net crackled and zapped as it held him pinned to the sand. It was heavy, and every movement he made caused painful shocks to course through him. 

He whimpered, struggling anyway, trying to ignore the pain and escape. Heavy footsteps made him freeze, and the face of a man came into his vision. The man was smiling a cruel smile, and holding some kind of weapon. It glowed an electric yellow.

"Well well well, would you look at this. An alien robot that transforms into a dragon, never thought id say that." He chuckled. 

The mans laughter was cut off by a roaring sound. Out of the corner of his optic Jack saw the same mech that he had met when he got lost. His mask was down, but Jack could feel the anger radiating off of him. Miko and Raf stood behind him. 

The two stood in a silent stand off, neather one backing down. Jack whimpered slightly, pleading for the mech to come save him. Soundwave took a menacing step forward, then the man pulled out another weapon, this one sleek and black.

"Take one more move and i blow this pathetic things brains out, if it has any." He sneered.

Jack whined, pulling a wing over his head. Soundwave stopped, growling. His wings vibrated in anger. How dare this sorry excuse for a pathetic, descusting, low level lifeform threaten a Sparkling?! But his wings were tied. He couldn't get to the sparkling right now without it being killed, so, reluctantly, Soundwave backed away.

The man smirked. "Thats right, back up. Now get out of here and don't even think about coming after us, or il blow you out of the sky." he snarked.

Soundwave said nothing, but on the inside his spark was raging. He would retreat for now, but he was recordings the whole ordeal, and he was sure the other Deceptions would wan't to dissambowl this scum as much as he did. So much for surprising Knockout and Breakdown with three Sparklings.

Slowly, Soundwave gathered the two Sparklings that were hiding behind him into his arms and transformed, flying away.

Jack watched sadly as Soundwave flew away. While he was glad that Miko and Raf were safe, one look at the human's souless eyes told him that he was certainly not.


	14. Knock Out finds out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> owo whats this?? a new update because my exams are done?? nAnI??

Miko hugged her knees to her chest, optics watering. Why did they have to wander so far from home? Sniffing, she took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down before she completely lost it. The glow on her boots flashed, illuminating her pale face in the darkness. A sharp pain suddenly assaulted her processors, causing her to squeeze her optics shut.

Images flashed. The desert, the inside of a vehicle, a human hand resting behind a rain splattered window. And two faces, unmistakably human. She couldn't see their eyes, but they were smiling.

Miko blinked. Eyes? When had she started calling optics eyes? Shaking her head, she turned to the window beside her, craning her neck to look at the near full moon. Pale silver light washed over her, making her paint appear silver, casting a faint glow into the cockpit. The silver light reminded her of the silver metal on Jack, causing a new wave of sadness to hit her. Miko curled into the soft material of the seat, casting a glance at Raf, who was turned away, his wings shaking.

 

Soundwave was furious. What kind of Decepticon was he? Letting an inferior life form capture a Sparkling like that. It was degrading. He was Soundwave. He was supposed to be superior. He sent a com to the Nemesis, letting it know that he was about to land. He would show that smug human that antagonizing him had been a fatal mistake.

Transforming, he landed inside the massive legendary warship. The Sparklings gripped onto his chest, surprised by the sudden transformation. Soundwave quickly supported them, gathering them in one arm, making swift strides towards the main control deck. A couple of curious Vehicons peeked around a corner, stepping back in surprise when they saw the small beings hanging onto Soundwave. One Vehicon, damage clearly visible on the right side of its face, stops walking and waves, recognizing the Sparklings. Raf blinks and waves, a shy smile gracing his tear stained face.

 

Megatron glanced over some data pads, deciding which Energon mine he should send troops to, when he heard the door slide open. Glancing over his shoulder, he fully turned, optics widening as he grinned.

"Well done Shockwave! I knew i could count on you." Megatron praised, standing to greet the Officer of Communications.

Soundwave said nothing, the only indication of emotion was a barely detectable flick of a flap on his wings. Seekers had a sort of second language, Wing Speech. They communicated by subtle, or obvious, movements of their wings. Small ficks upwards indicated happiness.

Megatron picked up Miko, holding her like one might hold a kitten. The femme puffed herself up, clearly afraid of this intimidating mech. Megatron chuckled.

"While it is understandable to show fear in my presence, i assure you that no harm will befall you or your friend." He said, holding the Sparkling in his servo, making sure that she couldn't fall. The tiny femme looked around, optics wide. The glow on her boots flashed erratically. She decided that she did NOT want to be here.

Miko's leg shot out, kicking Megatron's digits. The warlord flinched in surprise. Miko launched herself off his servo, chirping to Raf as she hit the floor and sprinted away in fear. Raf, in a panic, sunk his talons into Soundwave's wing, tearing off after Miko. The two bigger mechs froze for a moment, before racing after the Sparklings, who had disappeared into the nearby hallways.

 

 

Knock Out leaned against Breakdown's side, relaxing with his partner on their berth while they had a bit of spare time. The Medbay was quiet, the only sounds being the occasional Vehicon walking by. Breakdown was in recharge, getting some rest before he was deployed on his next mission. In the quiet, Knock Out's thoughts began to drift back to happier times, back when things hadn't been so bad. He and Breakdown had been happy together even back then. They had wanted to maybe start a family. But then... the incident shattered that dream. 

Knock Out sighed sadly as he ran a clawed servo over his spark chamber. His spark pulsed at a steady rate, the soft blue light it gave off no doubt shining beneath his plating. It was depressing to think about, so he dismissed the thoughts, deciding to occupy himself by looking at his reflection. Yup, still the most fabulous mech in the universe.

Footsteps raced down the hall, and Knock Out was about to tune them out, when he noticed how quiet they were. Vehicons, although not the biggest of soldiers, still made a fair amount of noise when they ran.

"What in Unicron's name..." Knock Out muttered, sliding off the berth. 

He moved over to the door, stepping out as it opened. The halls were empty, and no alarms were sounding to signify an attack. Knock Out stepped out fully, turning to look down the other end of the hall.

SMACK

Knock Out spun as something hit his pedes, a small metallic 'twang' sounding out. He quickly pulled out his saws, ready to fight off the tiny attacker. When he saw what had hit him, however, his demeanor swiftly changed. Two small forms were on the floor, holding their heads, dazed. Knock Out's entire form stiffened, his processors stalling and yet at the same time bringing up horrific memories. While his mind reeled to understand what he was seeing, other, much heavier footsteps stomped down the halls. One was very heavy and loud, and one was swift and nearly silent. Megatron and Soundwave.

The Sparklings seemed to hear them too, as they quickly bolted behind Knock Out, hiding behind the medic. Knock Out, finally understanding what he had seen, took a protective stance. If Megatron or Soundwave wanted to hurt these precious Sparklings, they would have to go through him, Breakdown, and the impressive amount of Vehicons that were more loyal to himself than Megatron. He did dictate exactly what happened to them when they got injured, after all. Knock Out's body tensed as the two mechs rounded the corner.

Megatron slowed to a stop when he saw the two Sparklings hiding behind a very tense Knock Out. The warlord knew that he had to appear non-threatening, lest he wake up with a Scraplet corpse where his arm should be and a missing T-Cog. 

"Ah, i see you've met the newcomers." He started, not advancing. 

Knock Out relaxed a bit when Megatron didn't approach with hostile intentions. He nodded, glancing back at the small Sparklings.

"Lord Megatron... i have to ask, where did you find them? They appear younger than a Vorn." He asked, cocking his head.

Megatron leaned against the wall, explaining the Vehicons report. Knock Out nodded, taking in the information. He sighed.

"So, these are the last, huh?" He said quietly.

Megatron was about to reply, when Soundwave jolted, remembering what had happened again. The two mechs gave him an odd look as he pulled up a video feed. It was of another Sparkling, but this one was vastly different. Megatron and Knock Out exchanged shocked glances. The video feed flickered, and it switched to something that made Knock Out really want to hurt something. It was the same Sparkling, only this time it was pinned under an electrical net with the barrel of a gun pressed against its head. Its sad cries for help broke Knock Out's spark. He lifted a servo to his mouth as the smirking human threatened to kill the Sparkling unless Soundwave backed off. He closed his optics, his mind already made up.

He would find that human, and he would make it wish it was dead.


	15. Experimental Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OwO whats this? An update? i m p o s s i b l e

Log – Day 1: Subject has shown clear signs of distress and confusion. Attempts to approach have been met with violence. Make a note to remind guards to insure anyone approaching Subject wears protective gear on their torsos, arms, neck and face.  
Log 2-Day 2: Subject has been sufficiently contained. Subject has taken to cowering in a corner. Agent Christian, codename ‘Dolos’, has suggested placing binds on Subject’s mouth, tail, wrists and ankles. Suggestion will be passed onto General Silas.  
Log 3- Day 3: Agent Dolos’s request has been granted, and metal binds have been placed on Subjects snout, tail and legs. Subject has been rendered immobile. Testing will begin tomorrow.

Jack whimpered as the door to his small cage opened. Armored humans chained his bound feet together before removing the main chains that tethered him to the cold concrete floor. His stomach growled and cramped in pain, the Energon he had days ago almost gone from his systems. A muscular human grabbed his neck and lower torso, squishing and restraining him. He remained still, hoping to not anger his tormentors, lest that human come back with his lightning stick.

He was carried into a bright room. A metal table that reminded him of the one he had first awakened on back home made him feel relaxed. The tables’ surface reflected pure white walls and a grey ceiling. Bright lights hung overhead, illuminating the room so much it hurt, especially after being kept in darkness. The human carrying him pinned him to the metal table by his neck, restricting his throat. Jack winced as the tables’ harsh, freezing surface pressed against his weak metal scales. It was nothing like the one back home. That one was warm, and you could get a good grip. This one was harsh and slippery and reflected light right into his sensitive optics.

Heavy, short chains bound him to the table, making it so his only movement possible was stretching his cramped wings and moving his eye. He probably could lift his head a little, but he didn’t want to risk it. The human removed his hand from his throat, and Jack gasped in relief. The spines on his neck stayed flat, quivering slightly. He heard a click as a door swung open. There were two sets of footsteps, one was light and swift, the other…

Fresh memories of pain assaulted Jack’s mind, sending him into a blind panic. No! Not him! Please, anyone but him! He pulled his head back, trying to push the muzzle off with the small claws on his wings. Electricity coursed through his body as a metal stick slammed into his side. He collapsed back onto the table, his breaths heaving. Lightning bolts jumped between his claws, little sparks flickering like stars. He pressed his head down, clawing the table as hard as he could.  
The cruel human who had brought him here chuckled darkly, walking around the table. His lower torso became visible as he stood in front of Jack. The Sparkling narrowed his optics sharply, a low growl building in his throat. Something hot swirled in his gut, and wisps of light blue smoke curled out of his nostrils and the corners of his mouth. It was an odd sensation, and he felt the need to open his mouth, but his snout was still bound by a silver restraint. 

Silas grinned when the creature below him grew agitated. It was interesting to see that there was a high probability of this alien dragon actually breathing fire. Ways to weaponize, recreate and sell this ability flooded his mind, so he turned to the man beside him. A lanky blond-haired man was dressed in a black lab coat and goggles. Covering the lower part of his face was a surgical mask, white and pristine. He didn’t care too much for Dr. Martin, but the man’s skill was far too good for him to just fire the doctor. A small metal briefcase was clasped in his right hand. Its contents were unknown to Silas, but when he saw the grin on Martian’s face when he saw the alien strapped down on the examination table, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Knowing the scientist, it was probably tools of torture and surgical supplies.

“Well doctor, what do the samples say?” He asked, glancing back at the fuming alien.

Martin’s grin grew wider. “It seems that its blood can be found in a crystalized form here on Earth, despite being completely alien! Some soldiers reported finding some in an abandoned mine about 300 miles from here. They brought back enough that I could distill it. Should be easily enough to keep it alive during surgery! Oh, I can’t wait!” He exclaimed. Silas groaned. 

Martin was like a kid in a candy store when he got to experiment, especially on something new. Giving him an alien dragon to play with was like giving said metaphorical child 1000 metaphorical dollars to spend in the metaphorical candy store. Martin pressed a button on a device clipped onto his lab coat, and 3 other surgeons walked in, all dressed for surgery. One was holding 4 IVs filled with a luminescent blue liquid. Silas nodded at Martin before leading his men out of the room, leaving the medical team to their work.  
Martin turned to the alien, his grin now borderline psychotic. He had one of his team members lock the doors, insuring that there would be no interruptions. Looking down, he flicked a small switch on the side of the table. Robotic claws replaced the cuffs holding his experiment down, flipping him onto his back, exposing his softer underside. Martin was surprised to find that he could press down onto its belly and it would move like flesh would on a living animal. The creature began making panicked, muffled screeching noises. He wondered how its vocal system worked. Did it have vocal chords, like a real animal? Or were its noises recorded? So many questions! It was a shame that he had to keep it alive and not completely broken. But a look at its stomach couldn’t hurt, right? He hooked up one of the IVs, watching as the blue liquid slid down the translucent plastic tube. Turning back, he marked off where he wanted to cut, and made his first incision. 

Jack screamed as the human above him cut into his belly. No! His insides needed to be inside, not outside! Didn’t the human know that? Were all humans so-Gurk!-fragging stupid?! 

Jack gasped sharply as something strange entered his systems. It was like Energon, but it was… different. It sent jolts of energy through his body. Too much energy. Way too muCH ENERGY! OH SWEET ANCESTSERS PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!

Martin cursed when the alien spasmed, causing him to cut deeper than intended. He was certain he had slashed open something important. Blue blood that jumped with sparks dripped out of its mouth, pooling beside its head. Blood splashed out of the open wound, hitting one of the surgeons. She screamed as it melted away her flesh, popping and fizzling. The other surgeons screamed and backed away, not wanting to risk being hit by the acidic liquid.

Martin quickly unlocked one of the lab doors, allowing someone to rush the poor surgeon to the emergency showers. The sound of metal scratching against metal suddenly stopped, and he turned his head. The alien had stopped moving, not even breathing. Blue smoke still curled out of its mouth, rising into the room. He was about to approach when he saw something that made his blood run cold. 

The alien began growing, straining against its binds. The ones around its legs and tail held, pressing painfully into the metal, but the bind around its mouth began creaking as the alien stirred awake, its jaw trying to force the steel band to snap. Electric sparks and smoke poured out of the rapidly opening mouth, filling the room with suffocating smoke. One of the remaining 2 surgeons started to unlock the door, quickly typing in the emergency override code. The one that would send the facility into lockdown mode.  
“NO!” Martin screamed, grabbing the surgeons arm. The surgeon looked at him like he had gone mad.

“Look.” He said, gesturing to the now fully awake alien. “The chains are still holding it. It's not going to break, those things are made of pure steel! We can filter the smoke out. But if we let Silas know that we failed to restrain that thing, we’ll lose our jobs and possibly our lives! We can handle this, we just need to- “

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. The sound of metal snapping drew his attention away. The broken halves of the metal band that had once held the aliens mouth shut clattered onto the floor. The now much bigger creature panted, its armoured chest heaving. It glared at the remaining surgeons and growled, its narrowed eyes glowing pink and blue. Its gaze fixed on Martin, and it bared its sharp fangs.

“What the fuck?” Martin whispered, now terrified. How strong was this thing?!

The chains that held its feet and tail down snapped easily, scattering around the room. The metal binds were still firmly on, however, and this seemed to cause it quite a bit of pain. The metal table crumpled like tinfoil under its blue claws as it crawled off it.   
Now that it was facing him, Martin could easily see what had changed. What had once been soft underbelly had hardened into metal armoured plates, blood red from its chin to the beginning of its belly. The blue plates on its face had expanded, running down the length of its entire body. The first few plates were the same red colour as the chest plates. Blue spines also ran from its face to its tail tip, which near the end faded from blue to pink to red. Its once weak wings had strengthened, and hooked claws now adorned them. The thin blue spines on its head had been joined by a pair of solid horns, a light blue colour that faded into red. The two sets of pink stripes on its face had been granted and additional, bigger stripe, and pink scales highlighted the underside of its luminescent alien eyes. Many new black spikes gave its face a terrifying appearance. When its tail flicked back into view, he saw the simple, near see through blue spade shaped tail end had hardened a bit and had become almost flame shaped. Blue blood still dripped from its stomach, splashing onto the ground.

“Oh my god, you’re magnificent.” He breathed, wanting to reach out and touch its now hooked snout.

“Oh my god, its lose!” The surgeon beside him screamed, typing in the last few numbers to the password. 

The sound of the surgeon’s shrill voice caused the creature to snarl, wincing. It pounced onto Martin, claws landing in his stomach. The scientist screamed, red blood gurgling up from his throat. Alarms began blaring as the other 2 surgeons fled, leaving the door open.

Jack raised his head. His vision was blurry and tinted with blue. He darted for the open door, whacking the screaming human on the floor with his tail. His body felt too big for his mind as he stumbled through the hallway, the metal around his ankles, wrists and tail digging into him, causing him pain whenever he ran. But that was nothing compared to what the pain in his tummy had been moments ago, when it felt like he was bleeding lighting. Was that what death felt like? If so, he felt very bad for SparkStarter.   
Red light covered him as he ran, trying to shut out the loud noises. He didn’t hear the approaching footsteps. He felt something slam into the side of his head though. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt as much as he thought he would. He looked to the side and was shocked to see that he was bigger than the armored humans. They raised something that looked like the electric sticks, and Jack began to panic.

Acting on instinct, he swiped a paw at the human’s face, rearing up. His claws connected with what felt like something akin to the wood of the tree he had climbed, but more solid. When he pulled his paw back, it was coated with a red liquid that smelled slightly of metal. The other humans raised their sticks, and small bits of something dented Jack’s body. He roared in fear and pain, flailing his tail and wings. He managed to knock them over, and he bounded past them, running down the hallway.

After running for a few minutes, he entered an open area. Cars and things that looked like giant dragonflies sat motionless, scattered about. A giant metal door was slowly closing as he ran across the room. He could see the faint orange light of the setting sun, so he pushed away his pain and focused on making it out of the room before the door shut.  
He heard footsteps behind him, but he shut them out, making a mad dash for the door. Just as he was a few meters away, something wrapped around his feet, sending him tumbling to the ground. An electric net was wrapped around his feet, sending volts of electricity through him, especially through the bands on his feet and tail.   
A human approached him and stepped on his muzzle, squishing it. A glance upwards sent hot hatred coursing through his systems. Silas. The man looked smug, like he had accomplished something great, instead of attacking an innocent Cybertroninan!

“Get a good look at that sunset, because it’s the last one you will ever see, you disgusting piece of alien garbage!” He spat, stomping down harder on Jacks face.  
Jack did look at the sunset. Seeing freedom so close stirred up a new, violent burst of energy. He snarled at Silas and grabbed his foot, throwing him down onto the floor. He grabbed him in his mouth and began shaking him, slamming him into the ground. With one final slam, he tossed the human onto the cold, hard concrete floor. He pinned him there, pressing down on his ribcage. He was about to crush it when SparkStarter’s voice filled his head.

“No Jack! This isn’t who you are. I know you’re angry, but wouldn’t killing him make you just as bad as him?” She asked, her voice pleading.  
The blue tint left his vision and he stepped back, horrified with himself. Was he about to kill that human? He didn’t want to be a killer! Jack felt the extra energy leave him, and with one final glance back at Silas, he fled out the almost closed door.

 

SparkStarter peered down sadly at Jack, her wings drooped.

“Are you sure you did the right thing? He wasn’t supposed to be like this yet.” She whispered, not facing the mech next to her.

LifeFlow sighed, shaking his head.

“Truthfully, I do not know. There is a high chance that things may be doomed, but I had to change him now. He wasn’t supposed to be captured, I didn’t think Soundwave would take Silas’s bluff. But I have faith in Jack. This has to work.” He said.

But looking down at the rapidly tiring Sparkling made that faith waver. What if he had changed him too soon? What if his primal side took over and he hurt someone? He looked down again, preparing himself for what he knew would come next. That moment would decide the fates of many universes.

‘Please make the right choice June.’


	16. June

Jack bounded over a fallen log, Energon splattering all over its surface. Sand exploded under his talons as he dashed through the desert, desperate to get away from that horrible place. His whole body felt alien to him, and his vision was swimming. Dark shadows danced at the edges of his sight, and he almost tripped over a rock because of it. As he ran, a black strip came into view, stretching as far as he could see. He had seen something similar when he had left the base, perhaps it was close by?

But just as he had almost made it, a great pain assaulted his systems. Images of humans he had never seen before, yet he felt like he knew, blinded him. Other things were there too. A pale pair of hands gripping Carrier’s handlebars, a voice that sounded like Miko telling him a bad joke about cats, a gentle face smiling at him. But there was something else, something bad. Yelling, screaming, the sound of glass being broken. Noises he feared, despite never having heard them. A door slamming, someone crying so hard it made him want to cry too.

All these things caused him to fumble onto the black strip. He was brought back to reality by a bright light and loud noise, before everything went black.

June wiped away another tear. That seemed to be all she had been doing lately. But who could fault her? She had been attending her only child’s funeral not 2 hours ago. There hadn’t even been a body to bury…

She still remembered the sharp, ice cold pain that had stabbed her heart when a police officer had come to her house and told her that her precious son was dead, killed in a freak building fire. He had said that Jack and 2 of his friends had been exploring an abandoned building, and that part of the building had collapsed onto a gas tank. No one had survived, and their bodies had been charred beyond recognition.

The funeral had been small, not too many family members left in her family. Some close friends had also attended, giving June their condolences. They were all static noise to her as she stared at the closed caskets, sobbing. The other children’s families had, of course, come, and June had found some comfort with them. They were all extremely pleasant people, and she wished she could have met them on happier terms. Rafael’s parents told her of about how their son had told them so many good things about Jack, how he had stood up for their son and Miko, and how saddened they were that they would never get to meet him.

And now her she was, alone, crying, and desperately missing her son. She rubbed her eyes for a second, wiping away more tears threatening to fall. It was only when she looked at the road again did she see she was about to hit something.

SCREECH- BAM!

June screamed as her bumper connected with whatever it was that had run in front of her car. She jolted forward, smacking her head against the steering wheel. Her car spun and slid off the road, rolling into the sandy desert. Quickly, she hit the brakes, stopping the vehicle. She put it in park and dashed out, hoping to god she hadn’t hit a person.

A grey and blue form lay crumpled on the road, illuminated by the headlights of the car. June gasped when she got a look at what she had hit, stepping backwards. Blue liquid pooled around its stomach, head, and feet. Metal scales shifted and moved as the creature breathed shallowly. The unmistakable smell of blood had June taking another step back. What did she hit?

Peering closer, she could recognise what it looked like. It was a dragon, like the ones in the fairy-tale stories she used to read-

She cut her thoughts off, feeling a new wave of tears threatening to assault her eyes. Looking back at the creature, she felt a surge of guilt hit her. She had hit this poor wounded creature, and now it might die because of her!

She blinked and shook her head, clearing those thoughts away. No. She would help this dragon. She was a nurse dammit! She could save it. She got back in he car and drove it back onto the road, making sure that the trunk was facing the dragon. Pulling out a spare pair of surgical gloves from her glovebox, she ran over to the dragon, opening the trunk. Grabbing it under the arms, she hauled it up and into the trunk of her car, making sure to lay it into a comfortable position. Tucking its tail under one of its legs, she grabbed one of the blankets she kept in the back seat. Pulling it over the dragon with practiced precision, she secured the wounded creature, making sure that if it woke up, it wouldn’t hurt itself or cause her to crash. Just as she was pulling her hand away from the corner near its chin, it leaned into her hand, purring. June froze for a moment, before giving it a sad smile and petting it, laying its head back down.

 

She climbed into the drivers seat once again, adjusting her mirrors. She took one last glance at her unconscious passenger before stepping on the gas, breaking the speed limit just a little. She needed to get home, so she could stop the bleeding. She blinked. Was that blue stuff blood? What kind of living creature had metal scales and blue blood? She shook her head again, focusing on the dark road. She would just have to find out.


	17. NightGlow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter about a character who will come in later.

2000ft below the Earth’s surface, in a secluded ice cave~

NightGlow had forgotten when he had last seen the sky.

Which was a real shame, considering the sky held many of his favorite things. The moon, the stars, the sun, the wind and the rain, all these things were now lost to him. Perhaps he would not be missing these things if he only wasn’t trapped beneath so much ice. Enough ice that is was unlikely anyone would ever find him. And if someone did find him, would they help him? Or would they finish him off? SparkStarter had said someone would release him soon, but would that even matter? He was sleeping after all.

When he had first gotten stuck down here, it had become very clear very fast that there was no Energon anywhere to be found. In a last dich effort to save himself, he had went into a Deep Stasis. A Deep Stasis was a form of stasis so deep, almost all life functioned ceased. His spark beat so softly, it was like the flap of a butterfly’s wings, one of the creatures he had seen on this planet when he had first arrived.

Eventually, he had learned through something called “dreams” that he was able to astral project. Using this ability, he had found SparkStarter and LifeFlow, watching over him. SparkStarter had told him to be patient, and that soon, he would be released. 

He sure hoped it was soon, he didn’t want to forget anymore…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, by the way, i have released pictures of the kiddos on the wattpad version of this story, my username is PineScentedSin


	18. Old Family, New Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sad bois, happy bois

Optimus felt like screaming. It had only been around a few days since they had discovered the Sparklings were missing, but it was a few days too long. When he had first found them gone, he had assumed they were off playing somewhere. However, when no one could find the younglings, he began to panic. He had gone down every hallway, checked in every room. Nothing. He had been about to consider checking in the walls, when Bumblebee found the human door had been broken...

They had searched the desert for hours, but found nothing. Not until he had come across the fading tire tracks. Humans. When he had saw the marks, he had almost snapped. He knew he couldn't harm the humans, it wasn't right, but his spark said otherwise. His spark told him to hunt down whoever had taken his Sparklings and make them pay, to make sure they felt excruciating pain. His team felt similarly.

Ratchet was overworking himself, growling lowly at anyone who approached him. Arcee had taken off somewhere, clearly distraught by loosing her partner, especially when he was like this. BumbleBee just looked depressed, his movements were slow and sluggish, and he spoke much less. The poor Scout kept glancing at his pedes and the door, like he was waiting to see Raf apear there. Bulkhead was furious. The green mech was often in the training room, and Optimus almost pitied any Cons who got in his way.

And Optimus? Well, he might have felt the worst. It was his job as a Prime to protect and watch over his Autobots, to keep them safe when they couldn't protect themselves or needed help. He remembered how it felt to have Jack curled up in his chassis, and how proud and protective it made him feel. It stirred his mostly dormant protocols and made him feel like a good Prime, and a good Sire. Even if Jack was not biologically his, it made no difference to his instincts, and he had fully adopted the Predacon Sparkling into his family, even when he had been human.

When he looked at Jack, he saw himself. The teen was a natural leader, and he was protective of his family, which had been extended to Raf,Miko, and, only half surprisingly, Arcee and the other Autobots. Humans' fields were weak, but he could still read them, and he knew that Jack was most happy when he was with them.

So to have everything ripped away in one night? It tor him up inside and made his spark scream. He could feel his instincts berating him. He was a Prime. He was supposed to protect them. Yet he hadn't even been able to keep a few Sparklings safe. 'Just like the last time...' His spark whispered softly. Optimus shut his optics, forcing the memories that were resurfacing to recede. No. He would not break down. Not when his Sparklings needed him. They might have bonded to their respective guardians, but they were still his family. His whole team was his family, and it was all he had left.

"Primus, please... let me have this. Don't take my family away again." He whispered to himself, letting a single tear slide down his faceplates.

 

 

Miko looked up at the red mech, who had gone stiff. She chirped softly, stepping out to stand behind his pede. The mech's attention was instantly on her and Raf, and the two found themselves being held lovingly against his chassis. Any sense of hostility was gone from his faceplates, replaced by a look that was so full of love Miko almost felt like crying. He shifted them in his arms, turning to look at the scary mech, and the one who had saved them. She puffed up her plating and hissed, glaring at the big grey mech. She wanted him gone. NOW. 

The mech just chuckled, showing off his sharp denta. She squeaked and pressed herself into the red mech, who also puffed his plating out.

"Quit. Scaring. Her." He growled lowly, his optics narrowing.

The grey mech seemed to get the message and backed off, muttering something under his breath. The two mechs turned to leave, but stopped when Raf let out a distressed beep, wiggling in the red mechs arms. The mech who had saved them, Soundwave, if she had heard right, turned instantly, while the grey mech froze, before slowly turning and backing away. The red mech looked down at Raf, who was reaching out to Soundwave. The red mech held Raf out to Soundwave, who instantly scooped him up. 

|Raf? What are you doing?| She chirped.

The tiny seeker was clutching to Soundwave's chassis, gripping the living metal.

|I-I don't know, but i just feel like i need to be with him right now. It's the same feeling i felt when i was around Sire and Carrier.| He squeaked.

Miko could understand that. She nodded and pressed herself into the red mech. Now that she had a moment to think, the crushing sadness of losing her best friend and brother hit her hard. Images once again flashed. A human with kind, storm grey eyes. Sand exploding all around her. Carriers warm servos. She whined and closed her optics, feeling sad and lonely and afraid. Suddenly, clawed servos were stroking her back, and kind, calming words were being whispered to her. She latched onto the comfort, snuggling into the warm metal.

 

Knock Out rubbed the tiny femmes back, cooing softly at her. He knew Soundwave wouldn't say anything. He had been one of the mechs Knock Out had confided in when he had been going through his depression after the accident. Plus, the Communications Officer was acting just as loving as he was, purring and clicking at the tiny seeker that was holding onto Soundwave like its life depended on it. The small sparkling was making soft peeping noises, and Knock Out could already tell that Soundwave was deeply attached. He shivered. Soundwave had been dangerous before, but now that he had a Sparkling... he greatly pitied anyone who fragged with the masked seeker.

A small chirp brought his attention to the Sparkling in is arms. Oh Primus, she was small. Too small. She was like a bean- 

He stopped. If he let his mind wander down that path, he wouldn't be able to do his job, because he'd be too busy building a nest and once he did, he knew he'd stay there until his Sparkling was big enough to leave. Which would be never in his opinion.

His processor stalled for a moment as he realised what he had said. His. He had called the tiny bundle of pure happiness snuggled in his arms his. Then, he felt it. A deep warmth stirring in the bottom of his spark. It filled his entire being, flowing around his body. Suddenly, he could feel something new, yet familiar...

He gasped, feeling a wave of emotions wash over him. A bond. He had formed a Carrier bond with his Sparkling. Fat tears welled up in his optics, threatening to spill over as he began to shake. Soundwave touched his shoulder, tilting his head. He clutched his Sparkling closer to his trembling form.

"Soundwave- i-i bonded with her! There's a bond there!" He sobbed, leaning into his friend slightly.

Soundwave's mask lit up with a cheering emoji face, and the seeker bumped his head against Knock Out's in a rare display of affection. The medic laughed softly, wiping away his tears. After the accident, he had fully believed he would never get to feel a Carrier bond, that he would always feel like a piece of him was missing. Yet somehow, someway, Primus had smiled upon him, and he couldn't be more glad.

Stepping back, he wiped away the rest of his tears. He looked down and saw that his Sparkling had fallen asleep. He gently shifted her into a more comfortable position. Looking back up, he saw Soundwave walking towards his habsuite, holding a very sleepy Sparkling. The medic just stood there for a minute, composing himself. He looked back at the door to the med bay, a soft smile on his face.

"Come on sweetspark, let's go say hi to your Sire~"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will i ever reveal what the "Accident" was? Yes. Will you wish i hadn't? Yes.
> 
>  
> 
> W̶i̶l̶l̶i̶h̶a̶v̶e̶a̶n̶e̶s̶t̶i̶n̶g̶s̶c̶e̶n̶e̶w̶i̶t̶h̶M̶a̶m̶a̶K̶n̶o̶c̶k̶O̶u̶t̶a̶n̶d̶D̶a̶d̶d̶y̶B̶r̶e̶a̶k̶d̶o̶w̶n̶-̶


	19. Purrcepticons and Helicopter Mom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> okay but what if cybertronians were just like fuckin cats and purred when they were happy. also June

Jack blinked, squinting. A dim light was hanging above him, covering his body in a faint glow. Slowly, he sat up, jostling whatever was resting on his lower body. Looking down, he saw a light blue cloth… ‘no, a blanket, he knew this word’, covering him. It rested gently on him, giving him a sense of warmth. He gripped the blanket with his paws, his grip weak and shaky. It smelled like fresh air. He hugged it to his chest, burying his face into the soft material.   
The sounds of footsteps, lighter than he had ever heard, slowly approached him. He ducked his head downwards, hiding behind the blanket. A door a few meters away from him opened, and a human stepped into the room. 

It was a female human. She was dressed in a pair of light green pants, a grey shirt, and a black jacket. She was holding a metal tray, some sort of clear container resting on top of it. She slowly walked over to Jack and kneeled down in front of him. She gently set the tray down and pulled the blanket farther over him. Her demeanor was kind, and when he looked into her eyes, he could only see good intentions and… something unfamiliar. It wasn’t a mean spirited or evil, not like Silas, but it was more… sad and distanced.  
A squirming, heavy feeling churned in her gut. This was an emotion he knew. Guilt. Although he didn’t know why. He hadn’t done anything to make him feel guilty, yet the feeling remained. He closed his optics, purred sadly, and rubbed his head against her warm, soft hand. He could feel his body suddenly shifting, growing smaller and smaller. He felt the female human’s hand retract, jerking backwards. His abused body morphed back into his original form. His stomach ached, his healing wounds stretching and pulling, before settling in place, the metal of his belly scarring over. He opened his once again completely blue optics returned, still flecked with pink. The human looked shocked, her warm hands brought to her mouth. Jack placed his small paws on her leg and began demanding more attention.

“Murr roawr! Rrrr!” He barked, gently pawing her leg. 

The human slowly picked him up, rubbing his head as she checked his belly. It was still sore, but it seemed that his healing process had been sped up somehow. The female rubbed his sore belly as she shifted him in her arms. He snuggled into her, purring. This felt right to him, and familiar, even though he was sure he had never seen this human before. He watched as she grabbed the clear container. It was like a round-ish cylinder, with a blue, soft looking tip. She nudged it towards his mouth, and he latched onto it, suddenly realizing how hungry he was. When the liquid hit his tongue, however, he spat it out. It was warm water and was certainly not food.  
He sniffed the air, smelling something that smelled edible. He wiggled free and stumbled over to a red square looking container with a black hose. He licked at the hose, trying to find a way to get to the food.

“You… want gasoline? Well, I guess you do look robotic…” The female said, a carrier like tone to her voice.

He purred, glad that the human understood what he wanted. The human walked over to a potted plant and poured the water onto it. She walked over to the food container and poured some into the container. A dull gold liquid filled it, and Jack swiped his tongue over his muzzle in hungry anticipation. The human picked him up, wrapped him in the warm blanket, which was much bigger now, and put the container near his mouth.

 

June watched as the now tiny dragon suckled the gasoline from the bottle greedily, like it hadn’t eaten in days. Though, perhaps it hadn’t, she didn’t know where it had been or what it had been doing before she had hit it with her car.  
As she held the little dragon, memories of feeding Jack sprung to the front of her mind. Her son, looking up at her with bright, curious eyes, just like the little bundle in her arms was doing right now. For the first time since receiving the news that her only child had died, thinking about Jack didn’t cause her to break down and cry. It still gave her a twinge of sadness, but she was able to push it back and focus on feeding the dragon.

“… You know, I think you need a name baby.” She said quietly. 

She racked her mind for a suitable name. Her mind wandered to her son’s stormy blue eyes. She took in the mostly grey and blue colours that covered the dragon’s body.  
“How do you feel about… Glaucus?”

Glaucus was the name of an ancient Greek god that meant greyish blue and glimmering. He had been a kind sea god, and June felt it fit the young dragon. It was also the name of a blue poisonous sea slug that looked like a blue dragon.  
The dragon purred, so June took that as a yes.

 

Knock Out closed the medbay door softly, watching to insure it shut and locked. He turned back to the berth, where Breakdown was still in recharge. He purred and made his way over to his Conjunx, hiding the Sparkling still sleeping soundly in his arm. He gently nudged his partner awake, still purring. Breakdown stirred, blinking back into consciousness. He blinked confusedly as Knock Out nuzzled him happily. The large mech nuzzled back, not entirely understanding exactly why his Conjunx was being so affectionate, but hey, he wasn’t complaining.

“What’s got you so loving Sweetspark?” He murmured sleepily, not full awake yet.

Knock Out gave a small chuckle and looked down.

“How about you actually wake up and see? After all, I’m sure our daughter will want to meet her Sire when she wakes up.” He purred.

Now that, that got Breakdown to fully wake up. He shot up, looking at Knock Out with wide optics. Hope filled his golden orbs. Knock Out shifted his arms slightly, revealing his hidden cargo.  
Tears formed in Breakdown’s optics. He looked at his lover with a pleading look, as if to say, ‘Please tell me that this is real.’   
Knock Out didn’t say anything, and simply handed the femme to Breakdown. The mech cradled the small Sparkling, not even trying to hold back the shaky, deep purring in his chest. Knock Out sat beside Breakdown, who pulled him into a tight embrace. The Conjunx Endura was a purring mess, the deep vibrations causing the Sparkling to respond. She blinked awake momentarily, before snuggling into Breakdown’s servos, purring contently. Breakdown’s spark jumped and spun happily, feeling a bond forming.

“Primus Knock Out, she’s so small.” He whispered, instinctively pulling the Sparkling closer.

“I know, I know. I-I wanted to build a nest, but I know we can’t afford to do that. Not with this damn war going on.” He admitted, tucking his face into Breakdown’s neck cables.

Breakdown could feel his protective coding flare up when he heard his lover’s words. He wanted to tell Knock Out that he should absolutely make a nest, to hide and protect their precious Sparkling from this cruel, harsh world. He wanted to tell his lover that he would always be around, that he would be the perfect Sire. But he couldn’t. Knock Out was the only medic on the Nemesis, and a damn good one at that. He needed to be available. And he couldn’t always be around, he had to collect Energon and kick Autobot aft. His coding firmly refused to listen to logic, of course, and insisted he help his Conjunx collect nesting materials and Energon.  
…wait a second.  
“Knock Out, how are we going to feed her? We don’t have Formulated Energon!” He whisper-yelled.

Knock Out stopped purring for a moment, optics snapping open as his mind raced for a solution.

“No, we don’t. But that’s fine. I’ll just dilute some. If humans are good for one thing, its their drive to constantly improve. When they finally discovered how to make decent cars, they also made a fuel called gasoline. It fuels their vehicles and is completely edible to us. It can even be used in an emergency as a replacement for Energon. So, if I do it right, I can make a weaker version of Energon, which should suffice.” He declared, proud with himself for coming up with such a great solution.  
Breakdown nodded, accepting the answer and returning to his deep purring, nipping at Knock Out’s neck cables. Knock Out made a throaty noise, his purring being broken by slight sputters and muffled squeaks. Their intimacy was interrupted by loud beeping. The Sparkling’s stomach was growling, and the femme was obviously displeased. Knock Out chuckled softly.

“Alright sweetie, Sires’ going to watch you while Carrier goes and gets your Energon.” He said sweetly.

Breakdown shuddered, a pleased feeling filling him. Being called Sire was a privilege he never thought he would receive. He smiled and looked down at his new daughter, watching as her bright blue optics met his unnatural golden ones. She stared at him, tilting her horned head for a moment, before chirping at him, raising her servos up, indicating that she wanted to be lifted up. Breakdown happily complied, lifting her up to his face. She gently patted his face, staring into his optics. Her own sky-blue optics shut for a moment, before she reopened them, revealing that she had changed them. One optic remained the same, but the other was now a mix of deep red, almost black, like the majority of Knock Out’s optics, and a light orange ring, more orange than his optics, but still close.  
He froze for a moment, before grinning and letting out a loud laugh, nuzzling her. 

“That’s my girl! Already taking after your creators, eh? Wait till your carrier sees you, why, he’ll probably try to give you a new paint job right away.” He joked.

The Sparkling giggled, before her stomach growled again. She frowned and chirped impatiently. Breakdown patted her gently and placed her into his subspace. The femme popped her head out, beeping excitedly as they exited the room.

“Alright little one, lets go find your Carrier.”


	20. Memories and Plans made by snakes...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starscream is a fucking BADDDD DUDE IN THIS
> 
> sorry to those of you who wanted Good Ol' Uncle Screamer...
> 
> i'm sorry in advance for what's coming next i'm so sorry... ,o-o,

Jack stretched his wings out, letting his tail swing as he was carried around. SparkStarter had told him that the place he was in was called a ‘house’, and that it was where most humans lived. She also told him that the human, called “June”, had named him Glaucus. He couldn’t understand why, he already had a name!

Jack… wasn’t too sure how he felt about June. Every time he looked at her, he felt like he was forgetting something important. It made his tummy churn with discomfort and frustration. Sure, the human was very kind to him, but what did that matter to him if he couldn’t even look her in the eyes?

After a moment, June placed him on the ground. The floor was a soft, fuzzy texture, and was pleasant to walk on. She told him to wander around if he liked, and that she would be back in a moment, before shutting and locking something called a ‘gate’. Jack wandered the small area for a few moments, knocking over some blocks and shaking some pillows around, before something on a dresser caught his gaze. Dragging a rather large pillow over, Jack climbed on top and picked up the object. It was a picture, of June and…

Jack froze, his optics flickering as memories flooded back to him. His mother, his friends, himself, the cave, the liquid, all the events up until him passing out. He let the photo slip out of his paws, clattering against the oak wood of the dresser. He panted hard, his mind shattered and broken. Finally, he did the only thing he could think to do.

He screamed

 

 

Starscream circled the human residence, deciding how best to go about this. On one servo, he could just light the place up, but that could get him caught. On the other servo…

He could enlist some help.

If humans were good at one thing, it was killing each other. And he had found the perfect human for the job. The male was ruthless, uncaring, selfish and cruel, just like him. When he had hacked into MECH, it had been this human who had suggested adding tight restraints to the Sparkling they had captured. After it escaped, Starscream had approached the man when he was alone, and had struck a deal. Starscream would find the missing Sparkling, and he would extract it. Then they could proceed with the plan. Smirking internally, he opened his commlink.

“Agent Dolos? I’ve found our little friend, and I think you might be quite familiar with the location.”


	21. Backstory of an awful man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! IN THIS CHAPTER IM (attempting) TO PORTRAY AN ACCURATE ABUSIVE, TOXIC RELATIONSHIP. IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THIS, PLEASE JUST READ THE NOTES AT THE END FOR A TL;DR

Ulysses Christian was not a kind man.

 

Of course, that never bothered him. Why be genuine when you could just as easily fake any emotion and get the desired result? In his youth he had been called a sociopath, a monster, a freak. All the cruel and true names under the sun. But, again, it failed to bother him. People could say what they liked, but at the end of the day he was the one who came out on top.

But there was one thing that had always bothered him. Growing up, he was surrounded by loving people. His parents had doted on him, his friends had always invited him to play games and never excluded him. As he grew, he saw more and more of the one thing he could never have, Love.

It was infuriating. To have something so close, but to be unable to reach it had driven him mad. He had tried, oh how he had tried, but he could never successfully feel genuine love. Sure, he could fake it, but that never satisfied him. He was convinced that he would spend the rest of his days alone.

Then, he met June. And for a while, he thought he could feel love.

 

June had caught his interest during his high school years when she broke the nose of a rather rotund bully with an intelligence lesser to that of a trilobite. She had hit the boy so hard, his head smashed against a locker a few feet behind him, knocking him out. June promptly got a 3-day detention, the sentence being so short because the brute had swung at her first. He purposely got into a fight with another student, goading him into attacking first so that he wouldn’t be suspended. When he had arrived in detention, June was reading a book on first aid. It just so happened that he had injured his hand during the fight, a careless mistake on his part. That caught June’s attention, and she insisted on patching him up. From that day forward, their relationship only grew. Through the hell that was high school they went from strangers, to friends, to best friends, and finally to lovers. June had made high school bearable, and, at times, even fun.

June was quite the prankster at the time, which he didn’t mind. It kept his eyes open and forced him to develop a sort of sixth sense to danger. June often jokingly called it his “Spidey Sense”. Once, on picture day, as he had been opening his locker, a bucket of slime dropped on his head. June had laughed and laughed, a melodic sound that became one of his favourite noises. She had offered to help him wash it off, but in an attempt to make her laugh more, he had his picture taken as he was, covered in green, sticky slime. He didn’t know a human being could laugh so hard for so long. It was a wonder she hadn’t passed out.

As his relationship with June grew, he began to feel jealous of her friends. They were very close to her, too close in his opinion. He started some rumors, and they spread like wildfire. June still doesn’t know that he was the cause of her 10-year friendships ending. That time had been wonderful. Sure, June cried quite a bit, but she would always be hugging him while she did so, letting him say exactly what she wanted, needed to hear.

Eventually, it was just him and her. This made it much easier to get her to agree to move in with him after high school. He had tried to convince her to just stay at home, but she had been dead set on trying to be a nurse. Her studies began to cut into their personal time together, so he had tried to put a stop to it. He “misplaced” her homework, put sleeping pills in her drinks on the nights when she needed to study late and wake up early, he even tried taking money out of her bank account so that she couldn’t pay for tuition. But nothing worked. June was as stubborn as a mule, and she was slipping away from him, and as she slipped away, so did the feeling of love that he so desperately craved. So, desperate, he did the one thing he knew would make her pull away from her studies.

He got her pregnant.

Having a family is what people who were in love did as one of the ultimate commitments, and rearing a child required almost 24/7 care. He was ecstatic. June was not. She had wanted to get an abortion, not feeling ready for a child. He had, admittedly, pressured her into keeping it. But it was not a decision he regretted.

Until the child was born.

 

He could remember the day clearly. One of the worst thunderstorms in years happened the exact same night Jackson was born. He could remember feeling a rush of emotion. Excitement, anticipation, fear, and love. But, when he finally got to hold his newborn son, all he could feel was **disappointment.** He had been expecting the tiny, pink, screaming thing in his arms to bring him joy, like it was supposed to, but the feeling never came. He just stared at the child as it screamed, wondering why he wasn’t feeling anything. Was it defective? Surely, it couldn’t be… him?

And then it hit him. He felt no joy from his son because he did not love him. He felt something suddenly break inside him, and the love he felt for June began slowly dripping out of his heart.

As the years progressed, his love for June dissipated, but he still wanted her around. She was still entertaining, and every now and again he would feel a flicker of the love he felt before, the love he craved. So he made June almost entirely dependant on him. He would verbally put her down and would do the same to Jack, and he would get physical when she wasn’t looking. When she finally got back on her feet, she secretly contacted one of the few friends that had seen through the rumors and had developed a strong hatred towards him. Soon after, she announced that she was leaving him.

Anger. Anger was the only emotion he could feel at that time. He grabbed Jack by the back of his neck and held a broken beer bottle to his throat, threatening to kill him. He hadn’t seen the gun June had on her hip. She shot him in the leg, sending him to the floor. She grabbed Jack and ran, disappearing under the cover of another thunderstorm, the damn things had a habit of showing up whenever it was most convenient for Jack, and least convenient for him. He hated thunderstorms.

 

It wasn’t until he joined M.E.C.H that he discovered where they went. They lived in a little house in Jasper, Nevada. The dust bowl was nearly empty and nearly technologically void. A perfect place to disappear to. He had finally found the perfect moment to strike, when in came the Autobots. Who would have thought that his plain, boring, useless spawn would be among the first to contact and bond with alien life? He himself had known about the existence of these aliens long before Silas caught wind of them. He had seen the one called “Arcee” talking to Jack as they went into the garage. That one was almost always with Jack for some reason.

Then, right around when Jack and his little posse of weaklings supposedly died, they find a trio of little aliens, one of which bear a similar likeness to the small boy with glasses he had seen running around with Jack. But it was when he got a good look at the largest one’s eyes that his suspicions were confirmed.

Jack always had a certain look in his eye when he was frightened. It was like looking into the eyes of a cornered animal, desperate and unnerving. The alien dragon they had caught had the same look. The exact same goddamn look. It brought him a sick sense of pleasure knowing that he could abuse him without being reprimanded for it.

When he escaped, it was the first time he had felt afraid. Seeing him suddenly much bigger, stronger, and bullet proof was terrifying. It had taken 2 weeks to clean up all the blood. Dr. Martian had needed 25 stitches on the outside of his torso, not even counting the damage done to his insides. He had presumed that he would run back to his alien friends, but he had just received a message stating otherwise. He grinned.

 

It was time to remind them that Ulysses Christian was not a kind man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TL;DR: Basically, Jack's dad is a manipulative, disgusting sociopath. he does really bad stuff, causes june to take jack and leave, learns where they live and through stalking jack for an opportunity to kill him, discovers the autobots earlier than Silas, and recognizes him as a predacon.


	22. Fear is a valid response

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miko has fuking light up sketcher boots lmao

Raf watched intently as Soundwave typed. Green text in a language he could barely understand flashed across the screen. Different symbols appeared from time to time, their meaning lost to the young Sparkling. From his place in Soundwave’s subspace, he could see the screen in its entirety, yet there was nothing on it that his mind could conceive as interpretable. Nothing, except the image of the man who had taken his big brother. The still image caused the blades behind his head to stand on edge and filled him with a sense of unease and fear.

As if sensing his discomfort, Soundwave gently closed his subspace, not before petting Raf’s head softly. Raf chirped and settled in. Laserbeak refused to return to the subspace until he had located Jack, so Raf had the comforting space to himself. There was extra room in here, more than Laserbeak would need, and it made Raf wonder if, at one point, there had been others, Mini-Cassettes other than Laserbeak.

After about half an hour, Raf’s wings began to ache, and he became restless. He popped the subspace open, chirping loudly to voice his annoyance. Soundwave picked him up, his tentacles still typing away. More pictures were on the screen now, but one in particular caught his gaze. It was a human male. His face held no emotion, but his eyes were full of malice and something Raf could not place, but still greatly feared. He screeched at it, his wings vibrating as he trembled. Raf twisted out of Soundwave’s grasp, bolting behind a box. Soundwave quickly closed the images and knelt down to where Raf was hiding. The Sparkling had flattened himself against the floor, his bright blue optics blown wide. Soundwave gently picked him up, rubbing his back. Raf chirped quietly, tears welling up in his optics.

“Shhh, fledgling. Its alright. It was only an image.” Soundwave soothed quietly, his voice rough from lack of use.

He paused for a moment, before saying,

“Would you like to learn to fly?”

 

Knockout smiled, holding four small cubes. He had made one for Soundwave, knowing that his Sparkling would most likely be getting hungry. He tucked the cubes into his subspace and walked out of the lab. A few curious Vehicons glanced at him, but he was otherwise undisturbed. He was nearing the door to the med bay, when it opened, and Breakdown and their Sparkling stepped out. The femme was beeping rapidly at Breakdown, half in-half out of his subspace. Knock Out closed the distance, fishing out one of the cubes. The Sparkling’s vision laser-focused directly onto the Energon, and she beeped at Knock Out, making grabbing motions.

Knock Out chuckled and handed it to her. He had made it small enough that the femme could feed herself, which she eagerly did. Within moments the Energon was gone, the only indication of it ever having been there was the empty cube and a small splatter on the Sparkling’s cheek. It was then that Knock Out noticed her optic.

“Uh, Breakdown? What’s going on with her…” He gestured to his left optic.

“Oh, right, that. I don’t really know, I think it’s just something she can do. Nothings wrong with her, right?” Breakdown asked, suddenly worried.

Knock Out shook his head, and Breakdown sighed in relief. The femme squeaked and wiggled, kicking her feet. Breakdown set her down on the floor, letting her stretch. She spotted a Vehicon and chirped at it.

 

Miko swore she remembered seeing this bot before somewhere, and it frustrated her that she could not recall the memory. It hurt to try, which only confused her more. Said mech turned and waved at her, honking his horn. Miko giggled, which sounded like many short, high pitched beeps. She didn’t know why she found it so funny, but now that she had started, she couldn’t stop. The stripes on her boots flashed rapidly, lighting up the space around her.

 

Knock Out smiled. A Sparkling’s innocence was something to be protected. A familiar set of footsteps caused him to turn around. Starscream strutted down the hallway, looking uncharacteristically pleased. What had this flying snake done now?

 

Starscream’s face shifted into one of surprise when he spotted the Sparkling laughing on the floor. Knock Out didn’t know why, but a chill ran up his backstrut, settling in his spark, causing him to shiver slightly. He stepped in front of the Sparkling slightly, who had now stopped laughing. He felt her slowly rise into a crouched position, her form tense and trembling.

 

Miko’s systems were flashing warnings, every instinct in her body screaming at her to run. But her pedes seemed to be stuck to the ground. She had made direct eye contact with the stranger, and a fresh wave of fear and memories had washed over her, paralyzing her. There was no soul to be seen in his glaring red optics, only cruelty and emptiness. He took a step forward, his clawed servos raising slightly.

 

Her body finally reacted. Something activated inside her, and suddenly her vision was much lower. Wheels that had been previously tucked away folded out, spinning as she made a mad dash for an exit. She spun around a corner, skidding slightly. She could hear rapid footsteps, which only made her increase her speed. Things became a blur as she zipped about in a panic. She was going so fast that she did not see the oncoming pede.

 

Megatron was prepared for many things, but a lightning quick, tiny blur suddenly being underfoot was not one of them. He stumbled forward, managing to catch himself before he fell completely. Whipping his head around, he looked for the cause of his misfortune. Shivering behind his chair was a tiny armoured vehicle.

Picking himself up, he walked over to the transformed Sparkling, an impressed look on his face. He picked up the quivering baby, trying to remember how to comfort a Sparkling.

“Orion was always better with the little ones than I was...,” He muttered, at a loss as for what he should do.

He didn’t have to ponder for long, as a few moments later Knock Out, Breakdown, Starscream, and one of the Vehicon’s, the one who had renamed himself ‘Steve’, ran into the room.

“Starscream, what did you do?!” He snarled, passing the Sparkling to a shaken Knock Out.

“What?! Master, why do you think I had anything to do with this?!” Starscream shrieked.

“Because,” Megatron growled “whenever something on this ship goes wrong, its either because of you or the Autobots, and since there is no Autobots here, I presume at least, then it must be you. So, I ask again, What. Did. You. Do?”

Starscream cowered as Megatron stepped towards him, his wings falling back in fear.

“M-master, I assure you it is not my fault! I truly do not know why the Sparkling is so afraid. All I did was walk down a hallway that it happened to be in!” He sputtered.

“She. Not “It”.” Breakdown growled. Starscream rolled his optics but shrunk back again when Knock Out also turned on him, baring his denta. The Sparkling, now transformed back, peeped fearfully before ducking back into Knock Out’s subspace.

Before things could escalate or deescalate, Soundwave walked in, an exited Raf perched on his shoulder. The communications officer froze upon seeing the tense situation. Raf looked around quizzically, before making eye contact with Starscream. Within nanoclicks, his demeanor changed drastically. His panicked state returned full force, and he puffed up his plating, his blade like fins flaring out slightly as he hissed, eyes going wide.

 

Starscream, sensing a way out, raised his servos and backed away slowly, feigning a surrendering, apologetic look. No one stopped him. As he escaped down the hall, he ran smackdab into a rushing Dreadwing.

“Dreadwing! What in Unicron’s name are you doing going that fast in a hall?” He asked, rubbing sore helm.

“Sorry Starscream, but I have some important news for lord Megatron. You remember that Wrecker, Wheeljack?” Dreadwing asked.

“Yessss? Why?”

“He’s on Earth, and we managed to capture him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next, Wheeljack becomes a dad


	23. Enter Wheeljack!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sword man meets tiny sword girl and nerd plane.

Wheeljack wasn’t entirely sure how he had gotten into this situation. 

He remembered piloting the Jackhammer in the Milky Way galaxy, when he got a strange, scrambled signal. It was being broadcasted from a backwater planet called “Earth”. Deciding to investigate, he had set course for the planet, and had arrived within a week. He had just broken through the planet’s atmosphere, when something took out his ship’s engine. He remembered crashing, then nothing. The next time he awoke, he was being suspended 8 feet off the ground in a pitch-black room, his wrists and ankles bound by tight cuffs, parts of which emanated a soft purple-pink glow. That was what had him worried. There were only a select few forces that used that particular colour, and even fewer that could lift someone as heavy as himself.

A door slid open, and his fears were confirmed. A tall, sharp looking figure stepped into the room, flanked by two smaller forms. Red optics met his own, and Wheeljack quickly suppressed the shiver of fear that ran down his backstrut. As cocky and confident a mech he was, even he was not immune to the fear Megatron instilled into the sparks of every creature that met his piercing gaze. If he was, he likely would have died long ago, as he surely would have made a rash and fatal move, like trying to attack the warlord on his turf. Still, he had a reputation to uphold, and he would not allow his fear to be seen.

“Hey there buckethead. Long time no see.” He snarked, putting on a confident half grin.

Megatron, to Wheeljack’s surprise, didn’t react violently. In fact, the Decepticon leader seemed to be purposely holding back. His posture didn’t seem as imposing as usual, and his denta were not being bared. It made the bound Wrecker nervous. What was going on here? Why wasn’t Megatron being aggressive?

The two bots next to Megatron looked up at their leader, seemingly as confused as Wheeljack. One raised his stun rod questioningly, silently asking if he should attack Wheeljack for the offensive remark. But Megatron shook his head, motioning for him to lower the weapon, simultaneously flicking a clawed digit towards something Wheeljack could not see. The Vehicon nodded and holstered the stun rod quickly.

The Warlord turned to face Wheeljack again.

 

“Wheeljack. I must say, I didn’t expect to see you here. Tell me, what brought you to this little planet?” He asked. His voice was calm, but Wheeljack could still hear the dark growl hidden behind it.

“That’s none a ya business Megatron. Why do you care anyways?” He growled, narrowing his optics. Megatron smirked.

“Oh, I was just wondering if your arrival had anything to do with your Wrecker friend being here.” Megatron said innocently. Wheeljack’s jaw fell open in surprise, his optics widening, before his face became angry, his fear forgotten.

“What have you done to Bulkhead Megatron?!” He growled, baring his denta in fury. He strained against his cuffs, trying to break lose. Megatron chuckled darkly, stepping out of the room.

“Nothing… yet. Although I might allow you to see him one more time, right before I rip out his spark!” He laughed, seemingly forgetting about holding back.  
Just before the door slid closed, Wheeljack’s audial fins caught a small, frightened “Peep!”.

Miko shrunk back as the large mech stepped past her, the large door sliding shut as the creature inside screamed in frustration. She glanced over at Raf, who was looking at one of the Vehicons. The drone-like bot pressed a few buttons before walking away. Raf tilted his head slightly, before whispering something to Miko.

“|Meet me here once everyone is asleep|.”

Miko nodded and ran over to Knock Out, following him away from the door. Breakdown quickly picked her up, holding her close to his chest as Starscream stalked past. Raf backed up as the older Seeker approached, his wings falling back in fear. But he didn’t allow himself to be backed into a corner, and bravely stood his ground, even as Starscream’s sparkless optics caught his. Raf narrowed his optics as Soundwave picked him up.

‘I don’t know what you are, but I won’t let you hurt the people I care about.’ He thought, allowing himself to be carried without a fight. There was something about Starscream that seemed familiar somehow, like he had seen him before…

Memories forced their way into his mind, playing out behind his optics.

Clawed digits swiping at him, a yellow car, red, unblinking optics, thunderous footsteps, laughter, screams, 2 human faces that he could remember but couldn’t recognize.

Raf blinked rapidly, putting a servo to his optics, rubbing them. What had just happened? Who were those humans?

Why did it feel like he was forgetting something important?

 

Several Hours later…

Miko opened her optics, blinking away sleep. The room was dark, save for the few parts of the Cybertronian’s bodies that glowed. Slowly, she slid off Breakdown’s chest, careful not to hit Knock Out’s servo on her way down. She leapt off the berth and made her way to the door. She tapped it, trying to activate it. Locked. 

‘Darn. Guess I’ll have to find another way out.’

Looking around, she spotted a vent covered by a loose grate. Quietly, she crept over to it and pulled the grate off, lowering it to the ground softly. She climbed into the grate and began making her way through the ventilation system.  
Soon, she saw that she was over the hallway that she had been in earlier that day. Moving the grate covering the vent aside, she dropped down, wincing at the loud clang. She froze, wondering if someone had seen her. But no one came, so she made her way to the door. Raf was already there, and he waved at her. 

“|Alright, what’s the plan? What are we doing?|” Miko asked curiously.

“|Miko, I don’t think we should stay here anymore. That big mech, Megatron, said he was going to hurt Bulkhead! Like, really hurt him. He said that the mech in here was Bulkhead’s friend, so we’re going to bust him out so that he can warn Bulkhead before it’s too late. And maybe he’ll take us with him!|” Raf chirped, walking over to the buttons.

Miko felt panic rise in her. Panic, and betrayal. That mech was going to hurt her Carrier? Were… were Knock Out and Breakdown bad too?! They seemed to live with Megatron, and had been holding their servos over her audio preceptors when Megatron had been speaking, and their optics were similar! Heck, they even had the same symbols on their chests! But… she trusted them, she bonded with them… How could they do this?!

Holding back sobs, she ran over to Raf, picking him up and setting him on her shoulders. The tiny seeker smacked the buttons in the order he had seen the Vehicon do to activate the door when Megatron had first ordered it to. A “Shhhnk!” sound was heard as the door slid open. 

 

Wheeljack opened his optics tiredly. He had been struggling for the last few hours, but no matter what he did, he could not break the binds that held him. He glared at the doorway, but froze in shock when he saw no one standing there. Was the ship malfunctioning? Just then, two small figures appeared, and in that moment, Wheeljack decided that he must have lost his damn mind, because it almost looked like there was two Sparklings standing in front of him.

“Chirp! Peep! Chiirrp!” 

The smaller figure chirped quietly at him, and something long forgotten reactivated within Wheeljack, his processor finally understanding that what was in front of him was in fact real. 

“Holy Primus…” Wheeljack whispered.

A long dormant instinct, some code buried deep down roused within his spark, and a surge of adrenaline shot through him. These Sparklings were in danger. He needed to get them far away from this place. He didn’t know if the Decepticons would stoop so low as to murder innocent Sparklings but considering what had happened at the Youth Center all those vorns ago… he wasn’t going to take any chances.  
He strained even harder against his restraints, hearing the metal groan under the stress he was putting it under. The larger Sparkling warbled and ran over to his pedes, a concentrated look on the young bot’s face. The sound of a blade unsheathing was heard, and suddenly he found the cuffs on his feet were no longer there. Looking down, he saw the Sparkling brandishing a small blade from its wrists. The blades sharp edge glowed red-hot, and he could see that the cuffs had been sliced through, the edges of the metal slowly cooling. 

“Woah-ho! Nice work kid! Think you can get the ones on my wrists? Then we can bust outta this joint.” He said, motioning to his remaining binds.

The Sparkling beeped and began climbing up his form, tickling him slightly. There was a moment of hissing, then Wheeljack dropped to the floor. He was free! Wasting no time, he grabbed the two Sparklings and placed them into his subspace. Glancing around, he found his swords and grabbed them as well, glad to not have lost his favoured weapons. Casting a reassuring grin at his precious cargo, he slid his battle mask over his jaw, and he ran out the door.

Time to ditch this place, and, time permitting, kick some aft.


	24. Jack's Wrath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> soooooo ya'll know the character death tag?  
> im sorry guys ,0-0,   
> plz forgive me

June dropped the box of old toys she was carrying, running down the stairs. An ear-piercing scream shook her to her core. As she entered the living room, she saw Glaucus curled up in a ball, his paws over his head as tears dripped down onto the dresser. She ran over and picked him up, looking for any cuts or scrapes, but there was nothing. Glaucus raised his head, and she could see a look of confusion and fear in his eyes. He was still for a moment, before he wiped his eyes and wiggled out of her grasp.

“Glaucus, what’s wrong?” June asked, not really expecting an answer.

“Eyrrr! Arrmm! Grrrack!”

June blinked. Those garbled noises had almost sounded like words.

Was… was he trying to communicate with her.

“Sorry, I can’t understand you.” She said.

“Eyyye! Armm! Jyrcak!” He tried again, gesturing to himself.

When June just tilted her head, he huffed and ran off, returning a few moments later with a marker and a piece of paper. Using his mouth, he uncapped the marker and wrote 3 words.

I AM JACK

 

June gasped, stepping backwards. Fresh tears sprung to her eyes and she collapsed onto the couch, sobbing. This… this was too much. A small paw tapped her leg gently, and she snapped.

“GET AWAY FROM ME! YOU ARE NOT MY SON! HE’S DEAD!” June shouted, sitting up. The small dragon below her backpedaled quickly, before stubbornly holding up the paper and its treacherous words. He placed the paper in front of the couch and grabbed the marker again.

TEST ME

June glared at the paper, her eyes red. She steadied her breathing before speaking.

“What was I going to call Jack if he was a girl?”

AUDRA

June’s eyes widened.

“Wh-what was the name of J-jack’s first pet?

TOOTHPASTE. IT WAS A GOLDFISH

June took a shuddering breath, tears falling freely.

“W-w-why did we leave our first ho-home?”

There was a pause, and in the silence, June could hear the crunch of plastic breaking as the marker cracked under the pressure of sharp teeth.

D A D

June sobbed again and scooped up her son into a bone crushing hug. Jack let himself be crushed, just happy that he had convinced his stubborn mother. The two stayed like that, both crying and happy. After about 10 minutes, June held Jack out in front of her.

“*sniff* So, how did this happen?” She asked, drying her tears.

Jack opened his mouth, before shutting it again. How would he explain this if he couldn’t even speak English? Thinking for a moment, he remembered his mom’s laptop.

“Lrrrapptopp.” He tried, hoping June would understand. Luckily, she did, and soon he was in front of a keyboard. He attempted to crack his knuckles, but only succeeded in getting his paws stuck together. He laughed, embarrassed, before beginning to type.

 

June stared at the screen, the tips of her fingers resting flat against her lips. Jack’s claws lifted away from the keyboard as he finished his story. The two sat in silence, for what could possibly be said in response to such a tale? Jack gently shut the laptop and leaned into his mother, a few tears silently dripping down his snout.

After a while, June rose from the couch, stretching.

“Well, it sounds like you have people missing you very much. What do you say, want to introduce me?” She asked, turning back to her son with a faint smile. Jack smiled back, rising to his feet. He leapt off the couch.

And then the living room exploded.

 

 

Jack twitched, his optics opening agonizingly slow. Colours were dim, shrouded by a thick grey smoke. Yet through the grey he could see fire. The angry flames licked at him, heating up his metal scales to the point where it became painful. Sluggishly, he tried to pull himself out of the fire’s scorching claws. His body finally realised that he was in danger and began to function properly. He pulled himself up, head swivelling around wildly. The once pristine room was now in pieces, debris and fire everywhere he looked.

He heard a groan, and he turned his head to where his mother had been standing what to him had only been seconds before. At first, he could only see pieces of the ceiling, but then, he saw a slim pale hand sticking out.

“|MOM!|” Jack cried, frantically trying to dig her out. He threw piece after piece off June, before gently nudging her side.

“|Mom, I know you can’t understand me, but you have to get up, were in danger and I-|”

“Leaving so soon?”

Jack froze, his body becoming rigid. That voice…

Jerkily, he turned his head towards the newcomer. A tall man stood in advanced army equipment, a smug look on his face. Jack felt a familiar hot feeling bubble in his gut, and he growled viciously, baring his denta. The man chuckled.

“Come now Jackson, where are your manners? Surely your mother taught you to respect your parents?” He tisked, taking a step forward. Jack snarled and snapped at his father, his chest beginning to glow. Ulysses raised an eyebrow, still grinning.

 

“Now, now my dear boy, I would behave if I were you. After all, it would be such a shame if something were to happen to your mother.” He said calmly.

Jack ground his teeth violently, his claws gripping the charred floor. The flames were getting close now, he could feel their heat on his thrashing tail. He wanted nothing more than to rip his father to shreds, but he wouldn’t, couldn’t, risk his mother’s life. So, using all his willpower, he closed his mouth and sat down, glaring at Ulysses.

‘Alright snake, I’ll play your game.’

“Good boy. Now, you are going to walk outside, and my… friend will take things from there. Try anything, and I put a bullet in her head.” He finished, gesturing to June, who’s eyes were beginning to flicker open.

 

Jack forced himself to obey, slowly making his way towards a hole where a wall used to be. The sun was setting over the Nevada desert, it’s dying rays casting a red glow over the sandy earth. Just as he was about to walk outside, his audial preceptors picked up on a faint noise. He stopped, his head snapping to the right. His enhanced vision allowed him to see what the human behind him could not. In the distance, kicking up dust under the sun’s fading light, were the Autobots. He was surprised to see that even Ratchet was with the group. Ahead of the rest was a familiar blue motorcycle, and Jack smiled, tears forming in his optics.

“What are you looking at?” Ulysses snapped, pointing the gun at Jack. He growled at his son, before he too noticed the dust cloud, and he could guess what was causing it.

“Shit.” He cursed, gripping the gun tighter. Unbeknownst to him, June had gotten to her feet.

“Oof!” He barked as a well aimed punch to the back of the head sent him tumbling forward. Jack’s attention snapped to his mother, who was holding her left side.

“Let’s go!” She yelled, grabbing Jack with her spare hand.

“Oh no you don’t!”

June yelped as Ulysses grabbed her ankle, tripping her. Jack heard a crunching noise as he and June fell outside. He felt a jolt of pain claw its way through his leg when he landed, and he couldn’t suppress a cry of pain. He tried to stand, but it felt like his leg was stuck in place, jammed. Desperate, he wrapped his tail around his leg and shoved. Hard. A loud crack sounded out, and Jack’s vision momentarily left him, the pain so severe it had offlined him for a few seconds. His leg now responded, but it hurt like the pit to use.

Pulling himself up, he searched for his mother. She was a few feet away from him, and a chunk of wood was embedded in her left side. Blood spurted from the wound, and his mother’s breaths were becoming shallow.

He tried to speak, but his body betrayed him, and only a gurgle came out. He coughed violently, spitting out a bright blue liquid. He could feel his throat burn as he hacked up more and more of what he recalled being his own blood. He must have been more injured than he knew. Willing his body to function, he dragged his weak form over to June, trying to get his mother to stand, to run, to get away. But a part of him knew that his mother wouldn’t be getting up. Not without help.

 

He heard the sound of a transformation, and a small spark of hope flickered within him. Had the Autobots arrived to save them? The spark died when he saw Starscream’s sleek form come into view. He moved in front of his mother, growling. If he was going to die, he would die protecting his mom. Starscream sneered.

“Ulysses, wrangle your offspring. The Autobots will soon be within viewing range and if they spot me, I don't even think the presence of a Sparkling would stop them from tearing into me.”

Ulysses nodded and raised his gun, smirking.

“I thought I told you not to try anything? Now, if you come quietly, I may consider-“

He was cut off by a rock being flung at his head. He cursed and dropped his gun. June, now propped up on her elbow, blood coating the right side of her face, turned to Jack, terror in her eyes.

“Run!”

Jack shook his head, grabbing her by the back of her shirt. He flapped his wings as hard as he could, pulling June up slightly. She tried to stand, but her legs were shaking, and blood gushed from her wound. Finally, she was upright. Jack, exhausted, pushed her forward, trying to get her to run.

BANG!

June cried out as a bullet tor through her stomach. Jack screamed as his mother’s blood splashed onto him, the red liquid getting into his mouth and leaving a sickening taste. He stared in horror at his mother, unable to move. June shuddered as she took a shallow breath.

“J-jack, always remember that I love-“

BANG!

June’s final words were silenced by the firing of a gun. A bullet hole leaked blood from the side of her head. Jack stared, tears and blood dripping down his face. His mother… was gone. Dead. Shot. Murdered.

Jack didn’t feel the bubbly fire that once simmered in his gut. No, he felt something much different. Ice slunk through his veins like a freezing river, numbing him. The world became silent as he stared at his mother’s body, the image burning itself into his mind forever. Slowly he opened his mouth,

and began to laugh.

Dark, quiet chuckles rose in volume until he was laughing, then laughter turned to sobs, which turned into a scream. A wordless, rage filled scream. He felt his body change again, his whole body tearing itself apart, only to rebuild itself even stronger. By the time he was done, his screaming had stopped, and he rose up, spreading his new wings. He turned to Ulysses, who was quivering now, the gun having fallen to the ground. Starscream also looked terrified at the monster before him. Jack growled, a demonic sounding noise that would frighten the bravest warriors. He locked eyes with his father and spoke one word.

“Ṛ̷̡̳̤̪͈̪̠͍̩̟͉̤̪̀̓͂̑̏̽͒́͂̍̂̈̀̊̓̽̏̃̈́̉͛̿̿̆̽̍̇̄͜͝͝ͅ ̴̛̮͔̪͕̹̺̘̥̟͉̞̟͚͉̩͉̝̻͙̮͈͑̾̐͑͑̽̓͒̍͐͗̅̑̀͂͒̽͒̒̌̔̌̕̕͘͜͝͠ͅŮ̷̡̡̨̻̞̣͚̬͔̟̭̦̣͚̣̜͖̙̬̪̗̝̭̞̭͖̪̘̟̮͙̠̣̿̏͗͗̉̀̑͂̏̀̆̅͛̋̄̉͌̆̇̓͆̀̕͜͠͝͠͝ ̶̡̧̢̬̦̹̤̬̗̝͎̱̤̣̼̫͈̺͇͇̗͚͍̱͎͚̳͇͖͓͓̠̭̖́̏̓̈́̏͊̊̓͐̅̈́̃̇͂͆̄̄̾̓̾̓͐͗̌͂͝͝͠ͅͅN̵̢͈͈̬͔̻͍̘͂̅̒̍̽̀͘”

Ulysses sprinted away, trying to escape the enraged Predacon. He didn’t get very far, as Jack lunged at him, grabbing him and throwing him down. He pinned his father with his claws and bit down, his teeth easily crushing Ulysses’s broken body. He pulled back, tearing off one of his legs. Ulysses screamed in pain and fear, trying to escape. Jack grabbed him again and flung him towards the burning house. Having taken care of one of his problems, he turned towards Starscream, who was frozen in fear. Upon meeting Jack’s madness filled gaze, he gasped and transformed. As soon as he did, however, Jack brought down a clawed paw on his left wing, slicing it. He faltered and was brought back to the ground.

Before Jack could deliver the killing blow, a surge of pain filled him as his body was forced back into its smaller form. Jack screamed, feeling his body shrink and crack. Seeing what would be his only opportunity would be to escape, Starscream took off, making a break for the cloud barrier in the now dark sky.

Jack cast one more glare at Starscream, before collapsing next to the flames.


End file.
